The Second Chance
by foolishangel87
Summary: Everything changed that night when Allison died in the graveyard.  And now her loved ones struggle to go on without her.  But everything changes again when fate brings back the girl they all thought was gone forever. 4th fic in the series..Eric/O.C.
1. Nights go by

**Chapter 1 Nights go by**

3 weeks...21 days...504 hours...30240 minutes...1814400 seconds.

That was the exact amount of time that had gone by since Allison had last walked this earth. An amount of time that may have seemed short to most people. But to those that had loved Allison, it was a period of time that was as agonizing as it felt infinite. It was a block of time that would forever remain dark no matter how many years went by. Nothing would soften the blow of losing someone they had all loved. Nothing would take away the pain of having to watch Allison die right in front of them. And nothing in the world would ever fill the void in their lives that had been left behind by the young brunette.

A part of them would forever be missing. A part of them would always be in pain despite the passage of time. Because the one person that had held them all together was gone. Nothing would ever be the same again. Because the night Allison died, parts of their souls had died as well.

This was what Sookie had been thinking about as she sat out on the back porch of the house she lived in with Bill, sitting on the steps bathed in the warm rays of the fading sun and looked around the yard surrounding her with a heavy sigh. It was a reaction that had become the norm for her in the last few weeks and she didn't even bother to try and fight it off. She had been doing that for a while and it wasn't going to work. So many people told her that if she cut these bad feelings off at the pass then they wouldn't consume her and it wouldn't hurt as much in the long run. But that was the biggest lie she had ever encountered. Because pretending like there wasn't still pain there was the worse thing she could do. Hence why she stopped trying to push back her feelings and just allowed herself to feel whatever it was that she was feeling. There was no use in fighting it since the pain was still so raw. It may have felt longer, but Allison had only been gone three weeks so it was only natural that she would not be ready to try and get back to a normal routine. But that was exactly what she was going to attempt to do. At least that would give her something to do rather then just sit around in the dark. And while she wasn't going to stop herself from feeling sad, she also wasn't going to let the pain take over her life. Or she was going to try to not let it. She was going to do her hardest to reclaim some kind of normalcy, even thought things would never be normal with Allison gone. But she had to try. She couldn't hide in her bed day after day and night after night like she had been doing for almost a month. It was tempting to try since she didn't have the energy to do anything else, but if she didn't try now, then she feared that it may never happen. And that was why she was going to go back to work, starting tonight.

She looked down at her uniform of black shorts and a white t shirt with a dark green sweater thrown over it and sighed again. She hoped that by returning to the bar for her first shift in over a month, it would help fill her time with purpose and a reason to remain out amongst other people besides the group that she had been with the night Allie died in that graveyard. It was hard to want to do that since they were the only ones who knew what they were all feeling since they had all gone through it. But it wasn't healthy to cling to one another like that all the time. Sometimes it was best to let go and drift away and find your own way to survive without the help of others.

But how were they suppose to do that? How were they suppose to go on and move passed this darkness that hung over them all with out each other? They only had each other to lean on during this time and no matter how much they talked to other people about it, if those people hadn't been in the graveyard then they just couldn't understand. So while they could find other ways to fill their time when they weren't around each other, they still all needed everyone else in that group to help them through this. Or at least when any of them were ready for help. It seemed like even though they all wanted to feel some kind of relief, no one was willing to try anything new to get over this hurdle.

Like Godric and Bill, both of whom were dealing with their grief in the exact same way by putting their focus on other people. They should have been trying to work through their feelings for themselves, but instead of doing that, they were being attentive to those around them. Bill was constantly around her, attending to her needs and wants to the point where she didn't even have to ask him to do anything and he just did it anyway. Or poor Godric, the vampire who had been Allie's best friend since she fled to Mystic Falls, was pushing aside his own pain to focus all his energy on picking up the mood of his child. Eric had become someone that not one of them recognized by falling into the deepest of despairs out of all of them and had taken to just sitting in Allison's room at his house and not making any kind of noise for the past few weeks. It was un-nerving because they all expected him to be on an angry rampage and he just wasn't doing that. That was cause for concern on Godric's part which was what had the 2000 year old vampire constantly focused on the viking.

So much pain and anguish. So much cold and torment. Just such darkness that never should have happened to them. But it had happened and as much as they wished it hadn't, it still remained the same at the end of the day. Allie was dead and they were all left to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and try to find some reason to go on in her absence. They didn't have a choice. She wasn't alive anymore and she couldn't come back to them. So they had to figure out some way to break through this darkness. And whether that took constant fighting over the next few years, eventually they would come out of this tunnel.

They just had to keep on fighting. For as long as they could.

* * *

><p><em><span>In Shreveport<span>_

"This isn't good Godric." Pam whispered to him as they both stood side by side in the hallway and looked through the open door to the dark room at the figure who was sitting in silence. "This isn't good at all."

"I know that. I just don't know how to help him." Godric sighed, running his hands through his hair as he had been doing for the past month, finding some comfort in the simple movement but that all was gone when his eyes remained focused on the hunched over figure in the chair in the farthest corner of the room. "I hate seeing him like this. I wish there was a way to take away this pain but..."

"We can't." Pam finished for him, an uncharacteristically sympathetic look on her face as she stared at her maker. "There's nothing we can do. We just have to let him feel this even though it kills me to watch him suffer."

They had been having the same conversation since the night Allison died and every single time they had come to the same conclusion. There was absolutely nothing they could do to help Eric deal with his grief. They thought if they thought it over enough then perhaps something would come to them but nothing ever did. And it was beginning to dawn on them that they had no choice but to watch Eric sink further and further into despair until he hit rock bottom. Sure they could try and talk to him even though he never responded. They could try and get him to leave the house or at least leave the room, but he never budged when they were there. Godric had toyed with the idea of commanding his progeny to get out of the room, but he couldn't do that. Eric was in enough pain as it was and taking away his free will over what he wanted to do was just adding more cruelty to his life and Godric couldn't bear to do that. So until Pam and he figured out a way to get through to Eric, they simply had to stay here night after night and hope that Eric snapped out of it and reached out to them.

"He doesn't do anything at all. He doesn't move, he doesn't talk, he does nothing except sit there in her room, like he expects her to just come walking through the door." Pam pointed out, tucking her hands under her arms and shook out her long hair over her shoulders. "It's not healthy for him to be in there. It's like a freaking tomb with all her things still in the same place she left them. She's not on vacation, she's dead. But Eric doesn't quite seem to grasp that."

"I think he does, I just don't think he wants to let her go." Godric replied, feeling a stab of pain go through him at the thought of having to relinquish the last part of Allison, their memories of her. Sure, being tethered to her by memories was torturous but it was the only thing left of her. So it was very hard to let it go. "He loved her so much, more then he ever thought he could love anyone besides himself. You know that, you were with him for over a hundred years. I'm sure you never saw him act this way because of any other human."

"You're right, he never was like this with any other woman and he was with thousands over the years. But Allison was special, she connected to him in a way that neither you or I could. And if she were still here, she would know what to do." Pam nodded almost sadly, her eyes were the only things showing the extent of her own pain over the situation. "But she's not here and now we are left to struggle to figure out what she would have done to snap him out of it."

"She did seem to be the one who knew him best." Godric agreed, remembering all the times that Allison had been able to get Eric to open up and tap into emotions that he would have otherwise kept hidden from everyone else. Hell, she had affected his quality of life so much that he had wanted to make her his wife so she would forever be officially his. But now they would never get that chance and it was one of the saddest things Godric had thought about up to this point. Of everything Eric and Allison were suppose to have and couldn't. "It's not fair. It's not fair that we lost her this early on."

"I know and I'm not one to get all mushy or anything but even I hate that she's gone." Pam retorted, twirling her fingers through her hair. "She and I were just starting to find some kind of equal ground where we would have one day become friends. And now we don't get to do that. We all had some kind of hope for the future when it came to her. And in one night, it all was lost and we're here now trying to pick up the pieces."

"I would rather take all the pain onto myself so no one else would have to feel it. Especially Eric. I feel his pain as strongly as I do my own and it kills me to watch him suffer right before my eyes. I can't take it." Godric hissed, feeling a flash of rage go through him at the universe for taking away such an important person in their lives and hurting everyone else that she left behind. It was cruel and unfair and it would never be alright no matter how much time goes by. Allison's death was going to feel just as raw as they night it happened. Godric looked at Pam and then refocused his eyes on Eric and sighed. "Nothing will even be the same again."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

_"Look at her...i can't believe she came back to work this soon."_

_"I know! What was she thinking?"_

_"Don't you think she should have taken more time off...you know, with the death and all?"_

_"She probably did all the sitting around she could possibly do...the endless days of doing nothing are probably getting to her... so it's probably the only thing she had left to do before she goes insane."_

"Maybe I should have stayed home tonight." Sookie grumbled, slamming her tray on the table in the back hallway while she gripped the edges with tight fists, doing her best to remain calm since she was in public. But that was not the easiest task to do when she could hear the thoughts every person in the bar was having about her since the moment she walked through that door. She knew there would be talk when she returned to work after Allie's death so she had prepared herself for the whispers and thought that would follow her all night. But preparing herself when she wasn't around the rest of the town was one thing and actually being in the bar where people could see her was an entirely different thing. And it was harder then she thought and it was now that she had to walk away and gather herself before she could face the dining area again.

"Are you ok?" Holly's voice came at her from the other end of the hallway and Sookie turned her head to spot the older woman walking towards her with a carefully guarded look on her face. "I saw you walk back here like you were ready to explode and I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine. I just needed a moment." Sookie sighed in response, turning around to lean against the table with her arms crossed. There hadn't been much conversation between her and Holly since the night of the battle. It wasn't because Sookie blamed her for not breaking the spell that kept them from Allison, Sookie knew Holly had tried her hardest. No, it was because Sookie had been avoiding everyone she could avoid who had been there that night. And Holly was the main one, but with her being back at work it was inevitable that they would run into each other. Like now they had no choice but to stand there and converse with one another and Sookie found that fore the first time she wanted to. "I thought I had prepared myself better for this, you know for coming back. But I guess I wasn't as ready as I thought."

"I had the same thought process when I came back but it wasn't nearly as hard for me as it is for you." Holly said quietly, coming over to also lean against the table. "You have it worst of all, you have to hear the thoughts everyone is having about the whole situation. I can't imagine having to deal with all this pain and then having to come back to work and listen to everyone's thoughts about what happened."

"Well, the one up side to it all is that no one really knows what happened. And that makes it a little easier to deal with." Sookie pointed out with a grim frown. It was true. The town thought Allison had been senseless murdered by some psycho and that's how Sookie wanted it to be know. Because if she had to listen to constants thoughts about what really went down in that graveyard, then she would surely lose it and she didn't want to do that. "Besides, people are going to talk about it whether I had come back or not. It's just their natural reaction. But it doesn't mean I don't still..."

"Want to punch them in the face?" Holly suggested seriously, her lips pressed into a tight line as theirs eyes met. "Trust me, I feel the same way whenever the gossip starts and if it wouldn't get me fired or charges pressed against me, then I would do it."

"Well I am glad I am not alone in that aspect. I want to do it so badly but I reign myself in because the last thing I want to do is be bothered by the police again." She grumbled, remembering the countless hours of questioning they had all been put through about the night Allie died and it had been tough to spin lie after lie but it was just something that had to be done. The police would never take the real story seriously, and Sookie knew a time would come when the rest of the Dallas coven would pop back up and if they police were involved, then they couldn't get their revenge the way it was justified. "So I will behave and pretend that I am getting passed this."

"I wish you were, no one should have to go through this kind of pain." Holly said, reaching out to squeeze her arm. "I'm here if you ever need to talk. I may not know exactly how bad you are hurting, but I was there and I am always a good shoulder to lean on."

"Thank. I will keep that in..." Sookie's voice trailed off as her head was suddenly filled with thoughts that were not her own. They were mean thoughts. Hateful thoughts. Cruel thoughts.

_"You know, I don't think they were telling the real story to the police. I think more went on involving Allison's death then they are admitting..."_

_"The rumor going around is that she had vampires around her the night she died...maybe they had something to do with it...After all, she left Bon Temps so suddenly, who knew what the hell she was getting in to..."_

_"She probably got so deep into the vampire community that maybe she found out something she wasn't suppose to and they killed her for it...and they are just trying to cover it up by saying she was murdered..."_

_"...that girl never should have gotten involved with vampires, trouble always comes from those walking dead people...she was basically signing her death certificate when she decided to get involved with them...it's her own fault that she died."_

Sookie couldn't stop herself from storming away from Holly the moment she heard those horrible thoughts. They filled her with such a rage that it took over her body and she couldn't control herself as she walked out of the back hallway and into the dining area of the bar where she stood glaring at the patrons sitting there. A hush had gone over the crowd as if they had forgotten that she could hear their thoughts and they were just remembering now that she could and every single face was looking shameful and guilty. The remorseful thoughts began to come at her but that did not stop her from lashing back out at them very loudly.

"How can you idiots sit there and think such horrible things? How can you blame her death on the fact that she was involved with vampires? That makes no sense. Most of you have known her since she was a kid and you watched her grow up. You all knew what kind of person she was and that she never would have done anything if she didn't think it was right, never would have gotten involved with people if she couldn't see the good in them. She was kind to all of you and now you sit there and disgrace her memory but talking shit about her? How could you all be so fucking horrible to ….."

Sookie felt a hand encircle her arm from behind and pull her back wards towards the hallway again. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know it was Sam, she knew it by his touch and she didn't fight him off when he began to pull her away from the dining area. She sent one last glare at the customers before she was yanked in the direction of his office. She couldn't read his thoughts but the way he was gripping her arm said that he was upset and she knew that once they were alone that he was probably going to give her a lecture of some sort about her loud outburst. So when he pushed her into the room and shut the door behind them, she prepared herself for a talking to that she knew she deserved but did not regret getting because she did not regret her actions.

"Sam I..." She began to say but he held up his hand and she fell silent, knowing that whatever he had to say was going to be something he did not want interrupted. But when he spoke, it was to say something that took her by surprise.

"I'm not going to give you a lecture because I know why you started yelling at the customers." He told her, turning around with his hands stuck deep into his pockets, a sad expression on his handsome face. "You heard their thoughts right? And they weren't very nice were they?"

"They were horrible." She nodded, feeling her eyes start to brim with tears. "They were thinking that she deserved to die because of who she was involved with. They said she was asking for it..."

"People around here are stupid, you know that." Sam interrupted, removing his hands and placed them on her shoulders. "And when they don't know the real story, they are going to make up some bullshit to fill in the gaps. And I don't blame you at all for yelling at them. They deserved it for saying such horrible things."

"I know I shouldn't have said anything, but I couldn't help it." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders and moving forward into his arms before settling her cheek against his shoulder. "How can people be so mean and cruel so soon after her death? How could they thinking such rude things when they all knew her? Don't they get we're all in mourning here and they shouldn't be making it harder then it already is?"

"It's a cruel world we live in Sookie and people are going to say and think whatever they want no matter how much information they have or don't have." Sam told her, his arms holding her tight against him as his voice also became shaky. "But it doesn't matter what they say or do. Our only focus should be on our own well being and how we felt towards Allison. The rest of it doesn't matter."

"I miss her Sam..." Sookie felt a lone tear roll down her cheek as she spoke and she hugged him harder. "I miss her so much that it's nearly killing me to not have her here."

"I know...I miss her that much as well."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"What are you doing out here?" Sookie's voice floated across the lawn to him to the spot where he had been sitting at the base of a tree in the back yard just staring up at the full moon hanging in the sky like he had been doing since he had awoken earlier that evening. But now his attention was focused on his wife, strolling across the grass to him. "I thought you would have been in the house and not out here in the dark."

"I like the dark, its calming." He stated moving over when she sat down next to him and when she was settled back against the tree, he wrapped his arm around her dainty shoulders. "Speaking of calming, how was work? Did it serve its purpose of distracting you for a while?"

"For the first few hours it did." She nodded, her body tensing up as she spoke and that was a sure fire sign that the night hadn't ended on a good note. And a moment later he found out why. "I was talking to Holly when I was suddenly hearing all these mean thoughts about Allison and how she basically deserved what she got. And that of course put me in a rage and I just..."

"Started yelling at them." Bill found himself finishing for her, knowing his wife so well that he knew how she would react in that kind of situation. And although he found it briefly amusing, it didn't take away from the pain and anguish that had been present in him since last month. He tightened his grip on her and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that, it must have been incredibly hard to restrain yourself for as long as you did."

"It was and it was embarrassing when I had to go back out there and finish my shift but I didn't feel bad about yelling at them. They deserved it for what they were thinking." Sookie muttered, a hard edge tinging her voice as she sat there in the grass with him, her hand resting on his leg as she breathed out heavily. "It's been hard to keep going and tonight, being back in the bar was just a reminder of how much harder it is going to be from now on."

"It has been a struggle and I fear it will always be a struggle." Bill said quietly, his own thoughts going dark for a moment as it dawned on him just how bleak life was going to be from now on with out Allison. She had been the light in their group, the one that held them all together and without her there was no telling what life was going to be like. Sure at some point they would learn to live without this constant pain in their bodies, but that void that had been left by her would never be filled. And that was a conclusion that they all had to accept. " But I don't think we can expect to just forget about it this quickly and pretend like everything is alright. Because its not alright. We lost someone so close to us and it will take a while before we can ever think to begin healing."

"You're right, it will be some time before the idea of moving on sinks in." Sookie nodded against his shoulder. "I just wish there was an easier way to stop feeling this pain."

"If I could glamor everyone who now knows about Allison's death into forgetting then I would, but that wouldn't work now that she's buried and the paperwork has been filed." Bill told her, fingering her hair lightly. "And I don't think trying to forget would be healthy. These things always have a way of coming back out. Pain like that can't be contained. But still, I wish I could take away your suffering."

"I wish you could too, I can't stand this." She admitted, pulling away briefly to look into his eyes. "How can we ever get passed this? How are we suppose to move on without her?"

"I wish I had the answer, but I don't." Bill wished more then anything that he could say something to take away the look that was in his wife's eyes at the very moment but he couldn't. There was just nothing to say except the obvious. Allison was dead and she wasn't coming back and the only thing they could do was push through and force themselves to behave normally like things were ok until they actually were ok. "We're always going to miss her, no matter how many years go by. But we're the ones who were left to go on and we have to do that."

"Yea, easier said then done."

* * *

><p><em><span>Late that night<span>_

_"You know I will never leave you right?" Allison told him, rolling over in the bed and placed her hand on his pale face and smiled at him. "Because I never would. You have me for life."_

_"Maybe I should reconsider. A lifetime with you would be torture." Eric said back with a smirk, chuckling when she sent a frown his way. "I'm just kidding...sort of."_

_"Oh shut up, you know you would love to be with me forever." She slapped at his bare shoulder with the heel of her hand before cuddling down under the white sheets, her young face peeking up at him. "Or else you wouldn't have proposed in the first place."_

_"Need I remind you that you did turn me down." He pointed out, trailing his hand down her arm. "So maybe you will end up being the one to get tired of this relationship."_

_"Oh please, don't start with the pouting. It's starting to make you sound like Bill." She giggled, propping herself up on both elbows and looked at him. "Besides, I only turned you down because I thought you were only asking because of the war. And I did say that if you were serious then once the battle was over then you could ask again. And I would say yes. So I plan on sticking to that."_

_"You better, because I am bound and determined to make you my wife." He said seriously, more serious then he had ever sounded in his vampire life. But this time was different then all the other years just like Allison was different from all the other women that had come before her. She had reached deep inside of him, deeper then anyone else had and she had forced herself into the spot where his heart use to beat. And he knew she would forever remain there. "I love you, and I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you always."_

_"Will you stop worrying, everything will be fine." She assured him, moving over so she was laying close to him and she pressed her forehead against his. "It's going to be tough, but we will make it. And we will get married. I promise you, you won't ever lose me..."_

"So much for keeping your promise." Eric found himself saying out loud to the dark and empty room as he came out of the flashback and was still in the same position he was in when it had begun. But that was to be expected. These days he hadn't been up for moving around much and was perfectly ok with just sitting there in the corner on that chair, lost in his own thoughts of his very brief time with the woman he had loved and now lost. It was easy at first after that first initial night, he was able to bring up those sweet moments as easily as it were to raise his arm. But now that he spend night after night relieving the same moments over and over again, it was becoming harder for them to come to him faster. And even though they tormented him because he knew he would never have any new memories to add to it, he still did it. He couldn't let go of her just yet.

These memories, although hard to relive, were the last connection he had to her. Sure all her things were still here because he refused to pack anything up. But those things didn't speak to him like his memories did. These flashback showed her happy and alive and with him. So when he came out of them, he always tried desperately to hold on to any last piece of it that he could. He didn't wan to leave the flashback and come back to the present. Because once he was back in the present, then she wasn't with him any more and the pain of that ripped him apart even further. And realizing that he couldn't pretend that she was still here, was agonizing to the point where he had to lash out at something.

He jumped out of the seat, grabbing the nearby lamp and threw it across the room where it shattered against the dark wall and the glass rained down onto the carpet below. He took the nightstand in both hands and it too followed in the direction of the lamp, the wood splintering in numerous directions until it all fell silent again. He stood there with his fists clenched to his side and for once he wasn't filled with sadness. He was angry. Angry at the witches for killing Allison. Angry at himself for not protecting her like he should have. And also angry at her for not staying alive when she had promised him she would.

"Why did you leave me?" He found himself shouting out loud, his hands curling so tightly that he was beginning to draw blood but he didn't care. All that he cared about was the pain rushing through his cold veins, filling him with more rage and despair then he had ever felt in his entire one thousand years. "Why didn't you stay alive for me?"

**A/N: There you have it, the first chapter of the 4th fic...hope it lives up to the standard of my previous fics. I have a lot in store for this story and i promise that if you stick with it then you will be very satisfied by the story's end. So thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Lashing out

**Chapter 2 Lashing out**

_"Come on Allie, get a hold of yourself." Sookie rolled her eyes at the stumbling girl she was trying to hold upright on their walk across the grass to the house. "Use your feet damn it."_

_"I am perfectly capable of walking on my own, thank you very much." Allison insisted, her words coming out in a jumble, making them practically incoherent she she tripped over her own feet and nearly went flying into a bush. She regained her footing with a shake of her head. "That wasn't my fault, the earth decided to spin too fast just now." _

_"This is the first and only time I will ever take you out to drink." Sookie grumbled, grabbing her cousin under the arms to push her up the porch steps and into the house where she sighed in relief. She had taken Allison out for her 21st birthday and the young brunette had taken full advantage of it and knocked back more alcohol then Sookie thought she could take with her tiny body. And now at the end of the night, Allie was on another planet and was making it very to get herself into the house. It had taken them10 minutes to get from the car and through the back door. And now Sookie found herself faced with the task of trying to sober her cousin up a little before she put her to bed. She tugged Allie towards the downstairs bathroom. "Come on Allie, you need to sober up before you go to sleep."_

_"I...am not a drunk." Allie hissed, needing to lean on her as they moved down the hallway. It was a good thing their grandmother was not home, because Allie was having a habit of grabbing at things as they walked and things were falling off the walls and the tables with very loud thuds, guaranteed to wake up anyone if they had been in the house. Sookie pushed open the door to the small bathroom and flicked on the light, causing Allie to groan in pain. "Turn it off, I think the sun just exploded."_

_"It's a light, calm down." Sookie chuckled, holding on to her cousin with one hand while she reached into the shower and turned the handle all the way to the left. "Alright Allie, come on get in the shower."_

_"No! You'll never take me alive!" Allie began to struggle when Sookie tried pushing her under the water and for such a tiny girl, she put up a fight. And in the end, she wound up twisting herself out of Sookie's arm and did fall into the shower, but the in the struggle Allie's hand had grabbed on to Sookie's arm and pulled her down too. They avoided hurting themselves, but now they were both under the freezing cold water where Allie was laughing at her hysterically. "We need to fix the roof, its raining in here."_

_"Allie, for such a smart girl, you really become an idiot when you're drunk." Sookie chuckled, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "But it's hilarious to see you like this."_

_"Like what?" The brunette questioned with her mouth hanging open. "What's hilarious?"_

_"Oh nothing..."_

"As crazy as that night was, I wouldn't change it for anything." Sookie whispered to herself as she stood under the shower head and twirled her hair around her fingers as she tried to hold on to the fragments of memory from Allie's first drunken tirade. She had jumped in the shower over 30 minutes ago and she never took this long to clean herself,but for some reason tonight she was having flashbacks of Allie and being in the shower was bringing her back to that one from a few years ago. Back to a time when Allie was at her happiest and most excited and... "Bill! What are you doing?"

"You were in the shower for so long that I just assumed you had been waiting for me to join you." Bill replied sheepishly, his hands removing themselves from her hips when he had appeared behind her with out her even realizing it. "I just thought it would be kind of fun..."

"Get out." She found herself snapping, over come with a sudden anger that she wasn't even sure was directed at her husband. "Leave me alone."

"What did I do?" Bill stepped back in shock, not accustomed to her speaking to him like that. " I just wanted to take your mind off things."

"By taking advantage of me in the shower?" She shouted, pushing him away when he reached out for her, angry that he had interrupted her moment of remembering Allie. She pushed open the door and got out, leaving him alone under the water while she reached for a towel before looking at him. "Just leave me the fuck alone."

And that was how she left him, rushing away as if he were a stranger instead of her husband.

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Why do I even keep this room? It's useless to me." Eric growled to himself as he stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking around at the expansive tiled floor with it's top of the line appliances and perfectly carved furniture that he had never found a use for being that he was a vampire. But when he had this house built, the designer had forgotten that he did not need a kitchen and he just never thought to have it tore down and remodeled for some other purpose. He was a freaking vampire. He didn't need to eat and when he did drink true blood, all he needed was a small refrigerator and that was it.

But then of course, once Allison came to live with him, that became a different story and she needed this room since she actually did eat food. And the thought of her in need of this kitchen brought back a memory that would shatter the careful fragile wall he had begun to set up around his heart

_"You spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen, you know that right?" Eric asked with a smirk, staring at the small brunette who was standing at the counter with a knife in her hand and a cutting board full of vegetables. "I don't get it."_

_"I'm human, this is what humans do. We like to spend a lot of time around food." She looked up with a smile, her movements pausing as she looked at him. "Besides, I would have thought you loved the kitchen. After all, we've had a lot of good memories in this room."_

_"Oh I could never forget those times." Eric grinned broadly, his mood instantly picking up and he moved closer to her. "You always get feisty when you cook."_

_"No actually, you force it out of me because you just can't seem to keep your hands to yourself." She pointed out as he moved behind her and took the knife out of her hand. She spun around to look at him accusingly."See? This is how it all begins."_

_"Don't pretend like you don't like it." He retorted, grabbing her by the hips and set her on top of the counter easily so their faces were more level. "Because I know the real you..."_

_"The real me...is hungry right now." She narrowed her eyes, pretending to be serious but she made no move to push him away and within seconds that beautiful, sweet smile of hers was spreading across her face. "But that can all be be forgotten for the moment."_

_"Oh yea?" He brought his hands up to her wrists, feeling her skin warm against his cold skin as he moved up to cup her face. "I'm more important then food right now?"_

_"You're always more important..."_

"But not important enough to stay alive." He growled, coming out of the flashback with the worst case of anger he had experienced yet in his memories of Allison. Normally when he would remember something like that, it would depress him so much that he would lock himself away and not come out for hours. He had barely managed to leave the bedroom and wander about the house and now that he had, he was being hit with memories of her at every place he turned. Every inch of this house had some kind of memory attached to it and if he kept walking around then it was going to remind him even more of the fact that she wasn't in here with him. And that made him want to break something.

So he did.

The first thing he destroyed were the kitchen stools lined up on one side of the island counter, he grabbed each of them and with a few quick snaps, they were in a pile at his feet, no longer resembling furniture. He threw down a few pieces of wood and upon still feeling the anger working its way through him, he went after the appliances next. He could hear his voice shouting in frustration as he pulled the microwave from the counter and threw it across the room and into the floor it shattered the tiles and sent it flying everywhere. He thrust his foot through the door of the oven, not caring that the glass cut his skin, in fact he almost welcomed the pain. He put a dent in the dishwasher and sent the toaster flying through a small window. He pushed the chairs around the table, knocking them to the floor as the rage seemed to overtake him and he became obsessed with trying to break the heavy wooden table with his bare hands, the anger only growing the longer it took to break the table in half.

It only took 10 minutes before the kitchen was completely destroyed, the furniture lying in pieces all over the place and twisted scraps of metal embedded in various parts of the wall. There were splatters of his blood everywhere, staining the normally pristine room. It looked like a bomb had gone off in here and this was the end result. This was how a room looked when he lost his temper and as he sat there against the counter looking at the destruction, he realized it didn't matter that everything was a mess. It just didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

><p><em><span>At Fangtasia<span>_

"Well isn't this a surprise. The bar is in full swing and Eric is a no show...again." Pam looked around the crowded main floor, eying a few humans with an intrigued eye before turning her head to look at him, her expression serious. "So what do we do?"

"I don't think there is anything we can do." Godric answered with a small shrug, also observing the crowd and then up to the stage where his child would have normally sat but was now empty like it had been for weeks. Eric was just still refusing to leave the house at all. There was some progress because somehow Eric had walked out of the bedroom he shared with Allison. But other then that, Godric had been unsuccessful in convincing Eric that it would be good for him to come back out into the world. Eric did not want to be around any other people and he barely allowed Godric and Pam to enter the house. So getting him to show up at Fangtasia one night was going to be tough and if Eric was refusing to even step foot outside the front door then there was no way of getting him here."If Eric doesn't want to come in then he doesn't want to come in. And we can't really force him."

"I can't but you can." Pam reminded him, slipping a bottle of blood over to him which he accepted gratefully before she leaned over the bar towards him. "You're his maker, you can command him to get out of that damn house."

"I know I can do that but I won't." Godric said with a frown, not wanting it to get to that point where he would have to force his child to leave the house he had been hiding in for over a month now. He wanted Eric to do it on his own terms, not because he was being forced to. "He has to want to come back out into the community, it won't do any good to make him do it before he is ready."

"I get that you want to be sympathetic or whatever to him, I really do get that. I'm worried about him too. But allowing him to just sulk around is not the best idea you have ever had. Because leaving it up to him will make him just think its ok to never leave that damn house." Pam insisted, her pretty face momentarily overcome with worry, a complete contrast to her usual smirky expression. "I don't want to make it harder for him, but staying in that house all the time is not good, its not healthy and if he doesn't start trying now then I worry that he may never get over this."

"I don't know if that is even possible." Godric closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands as he struggled to find a way to make everything alright again. He had always had an answer for everything but the one time he didn't was the one time it was needed most desperately. "Eric never loved any woman besides you and you were his child. So for him to let himself get to the point where he loved another was the most vulnerable he had ever been. And now its slowly killing him. Her death has affected him far deeper then any of us every thought it could. He lost the love of his life, I don't think anyone can get over that."

"He has to get over it. He can't keep going on like this." Pam protested, standing up straight and sending a glare at a couple of humans that were preparing to sit down at the bar but they went running back into the crowd the moment she looked at them. Once they were gone, she looked back at him with her hands on her hips. "Once he is out of the house then it could help if he has something else to do besides sit around. I really believe it will make a difference."

"Ok then how do you suggest we make that happen?" Godric demanded, feeling frustration rising up in him but it wasn't due to Pam, it was due to the fact that he was hating himself that he couldn't take away Eric's pain. He was suppose be the one person above all other who could get through to his progeny but he couldn't. "How are we going to get him to leave the house?"

"You know what to do, you're just too chicken shit to actually do it." Pam had no qualms about speaking directly what came to mind and that was evident by what she had just said to him. "Just fucking command him already."

"I told you that I can't do that." Godric shot back, looking up at the taller vampire and knowing that what she was saying was right. Commanding Eric was the only fool proof way they had of getting Eric to stop sulking around. But actually doing it didn't feel right at all. "I fear that forcing Eric to do something against his will is going to be detrimental in the end. So although him not leaving the house is not good either, at least its safer for everyone else when he is not out amongst the public. You never know how he might react. Him not coming in is a good thing."

"Well do you really think he should be left alone right now?"

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours later<span>_

_"Well this is certainly a sight I never thought I would see." Allison said brightly, leaning against the doorway with her hands tucked under her arms and a playful smile on her face. "The big bad Eric Northman sitting on the couch reading a book. What would all the other vampires say if they say you now?"_

_"They wouldn't say anything because they know I would kill them for making a comment about me." He replied seriously, sending a smirk her way when he looked up and motioned her to the spot next to him. She skipped over, dropping down at his side and settling there against him before he spoke. "And I wasn't really reading. I was remembering."_

_"Remembering what?" She asked curiously, her young face twisting into a frown as she looked down at the book he was holding in his lap. "Sweden? Why are you...Oh, of course."_

_"You can be so forgetful sometimes." He teased her, lifting his arm so she could move closer against him while he tossed the open book on the table at his side before turning to look down at the woman he loved who was happily lying in his arms and looking up at him. "But I suppose I can't blame you. Its not very often that I take time to remember where I came from or about my life before Godric turned me."_

_"Why don't you ever talk about it?" She honestly was serious as she sat back up and propped her arm along the back of the couch. "I mean, the only reason I know anything about your past is because of when Pam told me. But other then that, you never talk about it. Why not?"_

_"Do you feel like talking about you past?" He asked back, watching her sit back with a blank look on her face that showed she was shocked by his answer. "That's what I thought. You know how painful it is to relive tragedy, so don't ask me to relive mine. When I want to talk about it then I will."_

_"I'm not trying to push you but I just want you to know that if you ever do need to talk any time, then I am here. I more then anyone can understand your pain." She told him, pressing her hands to the side of his face. "I love you and if there is ever anything you need to get out then you can tell me."_

_"It's my burden to bear alone, no one else should share in my pain." He stated, feeding her the same line he gave Pam whenever his child wanted to speak about his old life and he had always refused. It just did not feel right to indulge others in a part of him that had nothing to do with them. Allison turned his head in her direction and upon seeing the gleam in her eyes, he had to ask. "What?"_

_"Whether you like it or not, we are together now. And one day we will be married. So therefore your pain is my pain." She made a point of informing him, looking downright smug about that fact as she sat closer to him, her face leaning against his so he could feel her breath on his face. "I love you so much, I don't ever want you to be alone with your pain..."_

"What a load of shit." Eric found himself shouting as he stomped through the doorway of the library and stood in the middle of the room for the first time in weeks. Nothing was out of place and in fact it looked the same as it did the last time Allison had been in here. The last book she read was still sitting on the edge of the coffee table like it was waiting for him to come in here so it could torment him. This room out of all the others was more tainted with memories of her then the others. She spent the bulk of her time in here, reading book after in front of the fire as she waited for night to fall and for him to come and find her. And this was the very room she was most often found in. Her presence still wafted through the air, filling his nostrils as she she were so close by and that if he would just turn around then she would be there. But she wasn't, she would never be there again when he walked into the room and just like before, he was enraged.

"So much for not leaving me alone with my pain." He growled, grabbing the first book he saw and tore it in half without second thought, throwing the two chunks in the air so a cloud of pages rained down about him but he could have cared less. "You said you wouldn't leave me alone to deal with this. And where am I now? Alone and without you."

He wasted no time running over to the book shelves and began throwing down every book his hands landed on, not caring that some of them were older then most humans were. Ripped pages and empty covers soon littered the carpet as he emptied one wall of anything that would remind him of anything attached to Allison's memory. He kicked a chair across the room before gripping his hair in both hands and screaming out loud.

"How could you do this to me? How could you just die on me like that?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Bon Temps<span>_

"Is it ok if I sit next to you or are you going to yell at me again?" A jokingly light voice asked from the open doorway behind her and Sookie looked over her shoulder briefly to find her husband standing there with a bottle of True blood in his hand while he watched her. "Because frankly, after tonight I think I am a little afraid of you."

"Very funny." She managed to smile at him, patting the spot next to her to show it was ok for him to be near her right now. "And yes, it's alright for you to sit here with me."

"Just thought I'd ask." Bill replied, walking over at a normal speed and lowered himself onto the porch with his legs stretching out over the steps below them before he turned his head towards her. "So...would it be crazy of me to ask if you're feeling any better?"

"No, it wouldn't be crazy at all. And I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't ask. I did kind of go psycho on you earlier." Sookie stated, a frown coming over her face as she remembered with shame the way she had lashed out at Bill. Her outburst was loud and embarrassing and unnecessary considering he was only trying to be close to her again. And she felt bad about the way she had spoken to him. All he had ever tried to do lately was be there for her and she continued to push him away. It wasn't fair to him. "Look, I'm sorry about yelling at you. That wasn't right and I hate that I did it..."

"You don't really need to apologize because I know you're not mad at me when you yell. And more importantly, I understand why you lash out. It's because its the only other way you know how to let out all that pent up emotion and I just happen to be in the path when you explode." Bill explained his face not changing at all from the sympathetic expression he had been wearing as of late. He set down his bottle of blood and took her hands in between his, gaining her attention before he spoke again. "But you don't need to worry about hurting me with your words, I can take it. And if that's what you need to do to feel better, then feel free to yell at me all the time."

"Oh you just set yourself up for a whole mess of trouble." She told him, feeling relief that he wasn't at all bothered by her yelling at him for no reason. She moved closer to him so she could lean her head against his shoulder and sighed heavily. "But thank you for being so understanding. I know I haven't been the easiest person to deal with and you have been so wonderful to me."

"It's not hard to be that way with you. Even when you are not at your best." Bill countered, removing his hands from hers and slipping an arm around her waist, bringing her closer. "But since we're talking about what happened earlier, I just thought I would ask about what you were thinking about before you started yelling."

"It actually wasn't a bad thing, it was a good thing. Or more accurately, a funny thing." Sookie felt her lips tug up into a smile as she thought about that flashback from earlier, it was one of the rare times when she had remembered Allison and it wasn't a sad memory. "I was remembering the time right after Allie turned 21 when she got drunk for the first time. And when I say drunk, I mean really drunk. I never would have thought that sweet little innocent Allie could knock back so much alcohol but she did. And by the time the night was over, she was so wasted that she couldn't even stand on her own. I had to drag her into the house and push her into the shower to sober her up a little bit and she wasn't exactly the most coordinated at the time and she wound up pulling on me and I fell into the shower as well. And we had both just sat there and started laughing like idiots..."

"I never would have guessed that Allison of all people would have ever gotten that drunk. She was such an innocent little thing." Bill shook his head, an amused smile on his lips as he thought of the girl he couldn't imagine acting like every other girl her age. "But I guess all humans these days have that experience when they become of age."

"Allie was never interested in doing things when other people did them. She experienced life on her own terms and I don't think many people could have stuck to their stance the way Allie did." Sookie smiled in remembrance of the shy and naïve girl, who had no problem sticking to her beliefs no matter what was thrown at her. "I mean, do you remember how long it took for her to finally sleep with Eric? No other girl would have held out for that long. But Allie did it in her own time when she was ready, just like she did everything. So I guess in a way her death was on her terms because she had prepared herself for it before hand. I mean, I know she was hoping she wouldn't have died but she had been ready in case it did happen."

"I just wish she hadn't had to be ready for that kind of outcome. No one should be in that frame of mind." Bill's arm tightened around her as did her hands on his leg. Bill pressed his lips to her forehead. "But that's what happened and we can't change it, no matter how much we wish it were possible."

"Trust me, if I could change the past then I would." Sookie agreed, wishing beyond everything that it were a possibility. "But I can't, no one can. And wishing that someone could is just going to make this all the more painful. So it won't help to think about what we wish we could have done."

"The only thing we can do is go through the grieving process and learn to let go."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"I should trash this room too." Eric growled, standing in the middle of the bedroom he had shared with Allison and looked around at all the things she had left behind to remind him of her. There wasn't one inch of this room that didn't have something of hers on it and it drove him wild. There were memories of her everywhere he looked in this house and none were more prominent then the room he was in at this very moment. It was like her presence was there, mocking him until he snapped again and he knew he was on the verge of it. "Get rid of everything that reminds me of her and destroy it all."

That had been his intention when he first made a move towards the table set against the wall. He was going to rip open the drawers and tear apart anything he came across and do it without remorse. But his hand had barely pulled open the first drawer when he felt all his rage and determination rush out of him and left him feeling cold and apprehensive as he stared down at the first object that had captured his attention. A brown leather book, sat on top of a pile of papers and seeing that made a frown appear across his face as he reached in and took it out. Allison's diary, pages of her words and thoughts, feelings and desires were now in his hands. He felt a strong urge to toss it back in the drawer or tear it apart like he had meant to. But his overwhelming curiosity got the better of him and he started fingering through the pages, wanting to see what it was that she wrote about all the times he had ever watched her do it. Sure he had read one of her diaries before, but this was one that he had seen her write in but never had been able to find. And now it was like he was invading her privacy. But she was no longer here and he was too interested in what she had written about to turn back now. He stopped turning pages as his eyes caught on one random entry, capturing his attention because the page was about him.

_Dear Diary,_

_So it's the second week after Eric asked me to move in and I have to say that I am still shocked that he even asked me to do it. I was hesitant at first because I didn't think it was something he truly wanted and was only doing it out of obligation. But then it occurred to me that whether this shit with the witches was going on or not, he would have eventually asked me to move in sooner or later anyway. So I shouldn't have been so surprised when it happened, because lately I have seen such change in him, even before the witch problem started happening. I saw how much of a different person he had become since I came home after all those months away. And I knew beyond everything, that I had made the right choice in giving him another chance. He has proven himself that he was not going to make the same mistake again and he hasn't. It hasn't always been easy and we will always fight but that's normal, I guess. And it doesn't hurt that the make up sex is pretty good. So in a way, I invite the fighting._

_But what I said about him being different wasn't a lie. He is different. Sure he is still cocky, arrogant, violent, mean and wildly inappropriate, but when it comes to showing that he cares, he doesn't hold back from telling me. And I never thought anyone would get to that point with him, least of of all me. I mean, I may be a Faerie, but I'm not all that special. And yet he chose me out of everyone else in the world to be with and somehow I managed to get him to love me as much as I love him. And he must love me that much because he never would have changed this drastically if he didn't. He's just so willing to go above and beyond to let me know he loves me, which was not always the case before I left. Back then I wasn't sure he did love me, but now I have no doubt..._

"I always loved you, I've loved you since that first night I saw you in that shit hole of a bar. And I've loved you every day and night since." He muttered, staring down at the pages with an even deeper set frown then before. He knew reading her private thoughts about him were going to be hard and maybe he shouldn't have set himself up like this. He should have tossed the book away as soon as he realized what it was. But not that he had read it, it was like having a bigger piece of her back with him. It wasn't like seeing her clothes in the closet or her books stacked on the shelves on the other wall. This was different. These were her words, coming from her head and put on paper by her. It was like she was speaking to him and he wasn't about to let it go now. He wanted to know more.

_Oh...my...fucking...god!_

_Eric proposed to me tonight. He proposed while we were lying in each others arms in the dark and I said no. And I felt like such an asshole because as soon as I turned him down, he was out of the house like I was trying to stake him. And I guess in his own way, a stake through the chest would have been less painful. I know Eric so well. So well that I should have realized that saying no when he opened himself up so deeply as to ask me to marry him was only going to invite a fight and of course it did._

_I tried to go after him, but he was already gone by the time I got downstairs. And then Godric showed up and basically yelled at me like a father would have done. And I don't blame him for it. I know I hurt Eric when I said no, and Godric took it personally because Eric is his child. And Godric will always take Eric's side no matter what. But even Godric needed to see that my reasoning was valid and not intended to hurt Eric._

_Don't get me wrong, I love Eric more then anyone else on this planet. And I always wished that one day he would ask me to marry him. Heck it was only a few days ago when Sookie and I were talking about it. But Eric was never the vampire to do things like regular men would do and he certainly wasn't the type of vampire to want to spend his immortal life with one woman. So I gave up any thought of that kind of future with him. _

_But then all this stuff with the witches happened and suddenly it comes out of the blue that he wants to get married. And I worried that he only was asking because he didn't think he would be making that long of a commitment with this whole war with the witches coming up. And that's the only reason I said no. The timing was just so off. It only seemed like he wanted to marry me because we were on the verge of war and wouldn't live to actually follow through on that proposal/ Because how can I trust that he wants to marry me and stay married if he can't even trust that we would live through this war. _

_So I explained that to him and I think I got him to see where I was coming from. But the most important point I had to make to him was the real part of the truth. That if he honestly was serious about wanting to get married then he would have to wait until after the war to ask me. Because then I would know he truly wanted this. And if I could see that, then I would definitely say yes. I mean, who wouldn't want to be married to him? That ass of his is enough for any woman to say yes._

"Oh yes, that is definitely her to a t." Eric couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her words. Allison may have been innocent and inexperienced when he first met her, but in the last few months they had spent together, she had no problem expressing her sincere appreciation for his physical appearance. And now reading back that last sentence, it was almost as if he could hear her voice speaking it into his ear. "God damn I miss it when you use to say things like that."

He should have stopped reading right there and ended it on a good note. Or at least as good as it possible could be when he was still tortured by the pain of her death. But his desire to hold on to her was too strong and he made the mistake of flipping to the very last entry she had ever written. An entry that was made the day of the battle that would take her life.

_This is it. Tonight we are going to war and everything is going to be decided. Everything is going to change. I won't lie. I'm scared shit-less right now. I know people are going to get hurt and that I will be injured since this whole war is about me. I don't want to die so its only natural that I'm scared But the more I though about it, I realized something. My fear is not as related to me as I would have thought. I think I'm more scared for the other people involved then I am for myself. _

_I worry for Sookie and Bill, I'm scared that one of them might be taken away when they just got married. Sookie's my family and Bill just became family and to lose either of them would be so unfair and not just to me but to each other as well. They can't be separated now, they fought so damn hard to get to this point and to have either of them killed would just be so tragic. _

_And then there is Godric, he's been my best friend since the night I discovered his soul trapped inside that tomb. He has been there for me every day and night since I resurrected him and he has been my shoulder to cry on since I came back home. He is always there to be whatever it is that I need him to be. And even though I hate how he talks to me sometime because I know he looks at me like I am a little girl, I still love him because he is so protective of those that he loves. I don't know what I would do if he were the one to be killed. If he dies, then that's it. I can't bring him back if the witches killed him. The only reason I was able to do that in the first place was because his soul was cursed. But if he dies tonight then its all over. And the thought of Godric not being around is just too horrible to even write about._

_But its Eric that I worry about most of all. He never signed up for any of this when he fell in love with me and he will gladly run head first into battle if he thought it would help keep us all alive. I've never had any one love me so much that they would be willing to lay down their life. Its one thing for Sookie and Bill and Godric to do it. But having a man like Eric wanting to fight to the death for me is just so overwhelming and it fills me with so much love. I can't even bear the thought of what life would be like if he died, so I won't even dwell on it. In fact I won't even think about it because it wont happen. None of us will die, especially not Eric. And I should focus my energy on happier things. Like what will happen after the war is over._

_Oh man, once we all make it through this, I wonder how long Eric will wait before he proposes again. I highly doubt it will be tonight even after the battle is over. Because we will have much more heavier things on our minds then the idea of marriage. But it still makes me wonder if he will remember what I said about if we made it through then he could ask me again and I will say yes. I know I shouldn't be thinking about this when we are on the verge of war. But it is better then obsessing about who may die. And thinking about Eric proposing to me again is definitely something that easily makes this whole situation better. Oh god I cannot wait for this battle to be over. I love him so much and it will be the happiest night of my life when I hear him say those words to me again. Eric Northman asking me to become his wife! Never would have thought this would be happening to me, marrying someone who will always be there to protect me and love me until the end of time. That's all anyone could ever want._

"Except we never got that chance." Eric found the emptiness returning to his body as he stared down at the pages where her words sprang up at him, the only remaining real part of her that was left. Her body was surely beginning to decompose under the earth and this was the only thing that made it seem like she was still here with him. This was the closest he would ever get to having her back and it filled him with such despair that the next time he looked down at those pages, he found the paper stained with his blood tears.


	3. Frenzied

**Chapter 3 Frenzied**

_I need to feed._

This was the first thought Eric had upon waking up that night and seeing the white ceiling staring back at him and he couldn't help but say it again.

_I need to feed._

It wasn't just a need, it was also a want. He had gone through his entire supply of bottled blood, finding disgust the more he drank it and pretty soon when he was down to the last bottle, he knew he had to find something else to satisfy his hunger. But there was nothing that would ever quench his blood thirst quite like Allison's blood had done for him. Her blood was like drinking the most exquisite wine and then trying to substitute it with grape juice. It was too much of a contrast and he would never find anything like her again. That's why she had been such a treasure to him. She satisfied all his needs in one tiny little package. He was connected to her emotionally, physically, sexually and through their shared blood. She had it all and that's why he had been so infatuated with her because no other woman had been able to fulfill his needs quite like she had. And now with his thirst for human blood becoming an issue, it was reminding him of the paradise he had tasted when Allison had been alive and it tore him apart to know he would never have that again. Full blooded Faeries were more rare now then ever and he had been lucky to find Allison but she was gone and he had to move on and find something else to satisfy him. He needed to find another human to feed on that would fill his hunger needs.

And then just like that, a thought hit him and he sat up in bed with the first real smirk on his face that had been lost since Allison's death. He may not be able to experience feeding on Allison ever again, but what was to stop him from trying to gain some resemblance of that back? He could go out and find a willing girl who looked like Allie and feed on her. It obviously wouldn't be the same, nothing ever would compare to the thrill he felt from his experiences with Allie, but he was determined to get as close to it as he could.

"It's decided, I'm going to Fangtasia tonight. And I'm going to give in to this frenzied hunger."

* * *

><p><em><span>At Fangtasia<span>_

"Oh Godric how nice of you to come keep me company on yet another lovely night." Pam's sarcastic voice said to him first thing when he entered Fangtasia and slid onto a bar stool at the counter where she stood looking bored despite the frenzy going on around them. She gave the crowd a roll of her eyes before she leaned forward on the counter with her elbows. "Just when I thought things couldn't get more boring, you show up."

"Nice to see you too Pam." Godric couldn't help but laugh at her greeting, and he couldn't help it even more when the smile didn't leave his face afterward. It was one of those rare times when he had a moment of actually remembering what it felt to be in a good mood. It didn't last for too long but it at least made its appearance once in a while. He looked around at the humans observing him who instantly turned away when they realized he was looking and he laughed. "I have an odd feeling about tonight."

"I don't know why, this night feels just like all the others. We show up, run the bar, collect the cash and close up. No drama, nothing out of the ordinary happens and we don't get laid. So I doubt that is going to change now." Pam groaned, dropping her face into her hands in frustration. "Is it so wrong that I want just some little inkling of fun in this big sea of depression that we have going on?"

"Maybe the way you express it is not always appropriate but I don't think it's wrong." Godric shook his head, feeling the same way Pam did. They all needed some kind of pick up after weeks of feeling down and depressed. They were still in the grieving process, but it was time to move on to something that would help them deal better. And if seeking out fun was what did, then that could only be counted as a victory. "I personally think we could all use a distraction right about now."

"See? It's not just me." Pam exclaimed, flipping her hair up and tossing it behind her shoulders. "I've talked to Bill and Sookie and they both are so intent on sulking just like Eric is."

"Wait a second, you called Sookie and Bill?" Godric asked in clarification because he wasn't actually sure he heard her right and he was a vampire. "Why would you do that?"

"I just wanted to see how they were dealing. It's not a big deal." Pam waved her hand to justify her point but Godric couldn't stop the smirk that spread over his lips and of course Pam caught sight of it and instantly frowned. "What?"

"Oh nothing, I just think it's curious that you would call them just to check in." Godric chuckled despite the death glare she was sending him. "Are you finally growing a heart Pam?"

"Yea, like that will ever happen." She replied even more sarcastically then she had when she greeted him. "I just was curious that's all."

"Sure, if that's the story you want to stick to then that's..." Godric would have continued speaking had it not been for the gasp that went through the crowd at that very moment. Both him and Pam shot their heads to the door and to their complete shock, they saw the very thing that was least likely to be seen in the bar tonight. Eric.

He had been gone for so long that now that he was standing in the doorway, his presence was immediately noticed and it was causing a stir among the humans who had always come here hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Eric had been absent for weeks on end and yet the human women still came in crowds and they were all now squealing like children at see their favorite vampire in front of them. But Eric ignored them and stomped passed the crowds towards the door at the closest end to the bar, he paused for a minute, his eyes catching Godric and Pam but then he disappeared into the hallway with the door slamming shut behind him. And then the noise resumed as if nothing had even happened.

"Uhhhh...ok." Pam was the first to speak, her normally tight lipped smirk was now slack with shock at seeing her maker just stroll on in and then walk right by them like they hadn't even been there. "I guess that was the odd reason I was feeling earlier."

"I cannot believe he came here." Godric had to physically use his hand to close his mouth that had fallen open when he saw Eric. "Why would he choose this night to come out?"

"Who cares? He got out of that house. That's all that matters." Pam said, clearly thrilled over this sudden progress that she didn't even question that something could be wrong. "You don't think it's good that he's here?"

"It's not that, I just think its weird that he was still in a sulking mood the last time I saw him which was only a night ago and now he seems to have snapped out of it. It's just odd." Godric explained, rubbing his chin with a frown, still staring at the door Eric disappeared behind. "I think we should go talk to him."

"Oh no you don't. Do not go storming in there and ruin this." Pam ordered, suddenly leaning close to him and grabbing the collar of his shirt. "He just walked in for the first time since Allison's death and we should be happy about it. But if we go in there and question him about it, it could be the very thing that pushes him to go back into hiding. And I for one do not want that. So do us both a favor and don't go in there. Just leave him alone."

"I just have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't right." Godric shook his head, easily removing Pam's hands from his clothing. He had this heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going on and he just didn't know what. Pam was right, they should have been thrilled about Eric finally stepping out of the house but it just felt like it had something dark attached to it. Like the reason Eric was suddenly back in the bar was not for anything good. But if he was wrong then he could be driving Eric back into seclusion and that was the last thing either of them wanted. So he was willing to let go for now.

"Fine, I will keep my mouth shut."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Goodnight Sookie, see you tomorrow." Holly called out, waving from behind her the bar as Sookie swung her bag over her shoulder and headed out the front door to the parking lot. She paused before she left to raise her hand at the older woman with the brightest smile she could muster, which wasn't all that much, before she exited the bar and walked out in the cool night air.

"What a shitty night." Sookie said to herself, taking a moment to unravel her long braid while she thought back to what had happened during her shift that had put her in such a horrible mood.

It wasn't all that bad when she had gotten there in the late afternoon, it wasn't busy and she was able to ease herself into work without too much stress. She actually found herself smiling a little bit thanks to Holly's and Lafayette's constant commentary. And she figured that if the day could start that easily, then perhaps it could end just as well. But that wasn't the case as once night came, out came the drunken idiots who were already mean and cruel when they were sober. But aided by alcohol and it nearly brought Sookie to blows with some of the people. For the majority of the night Holly or Sam had to keep pulling her away before she went ape shit on some moron and punched them. She had never been in a fist fight but hearing their disgusting thoughts about Allie was enough to make her want to jump across the table and smack them around. But she never got the chance because someone always pulled her away right before she lashed out as if they could sense her frustration. And while it was annoying, she was grateful for their involvement because the last thing she needed to deal with now was a lawsuit from someone she had hit just because she heard their...

_"That Sookie Stackhouse is one crazy ass girl...she was so fixing to fight someone tonight...that whole family is wacky..."_

_"That bitch had some nerve the way she was giving us the evil eye all night...all because she is bitter over the death of that slutty cousin of hers..."_

_"What's there to get mad about?...life was only handing that Allison girl what she deserved...she was involved with vampires and when you try and mess with fire, you are going to get burned.."_

"Why don't you stop thinking and just say it out loud so everyone can hear what pieces of shit you are!" Sookie heard her voice exploding outward at a group of drunken red necks gathered at the end of the parking lot swinging bottles of beer in their hands and would have otherwise ignored her but when she drew attention to their thoughts, they immediately turned their heads and glared at her darkly. But she wasn't at all afraid and she stepped forward, rage filling her body with every movement. "That's real big of you to be talking smack about someone who just died. What kind of men are you?"

"Ha, its the bitch's cousin." One of the man chuckled, pointing at her with an unsteady hand. "And now she's trying to start something with us. What's the matter honey? Mad that you didn't get your hits in when you could?"

"You are disgusting and shouldn't be allowed out in public." Sookie spat out, still moving forward even though there were three middle aged, drunken men watching her with interest. "I can hear everything that you are thinking and don't think for one second that you can think horrible things about my cousin and that I won't do anything about it."

"Oh we are so scared." Another man with untidy brown hair spoke up, his words jumbling together so they were almost incoherent. "She's going to try to teach us a lesson."

"Yea, ok. I don't think it will be us getting the lesson. I think it will be her." The last man said, dropping his empty bottle on the ground and moving forward to ward her but neither of the three men had taken more then a few steps before the sound of a gust of wind filled the air and they were all thrown back towards the ground before Sookie could even blink. It didn't take a genius to realize it had been a vampire who had rushed on to the scene and she nearly growled when she saw her husband standing in the path between her and the three men. Bill looked towards her as if to make sure she was ok and then he shot his head to the men lying on the ground at his feet.

"I will give you the opportunity right now to run away without trying to hurt you. But I will not give you that choice for a second time. So go." Bill told them, his voice full of menace and his fangs fully extended so he looked the part of a crazy vampire. Those three men, although in the stages of being the stumbling kind of drunk, they did not need to be told twice and hightailed it out of there leaving a trail of dust behind them as they ran for the road and left her and Bill as the only ones in the parking lot. Bill clicked his fangs back in and then turned towards her with a smile. "Are you..."

"God damn it Bill, why did you have to come running in? I could have handled it." She snapped, feeling a sudden upswing of anger come over her at seeing her husband come in like a knight in shinning armor to rescue her when she really did not need it. She wasn't a damsel in distress, she didn't need saving and it seemed like he was always there doing just that. "I don't need you to protect me all the time."

"Sookie, you were trying to start a fight with 3 drunk men. I was only trying to help you before the situation got dire." Bill protested, his pale face turning dark for a moment as it seemed he too was battling anger. But his rage disappeared far more quickly then hers did. He took on a more sympathetic expression as he moved over to her. "I don't want to get into another fight. I just thought I was doing you a …."

"I wouldn't be yelling at you if you didn't try to fucking ruin everything all the time." She shouted, stepping away from him when he reached out for her. "I don't always need you to be there. I am quite capable of taking care of myself. I did it long before you ever came along."

"I'm your husband, it's up to me to ruin things by swooping in and stopping you from doing something stupid." He shot back, not standing down like his face suggested he was on the verge of doing. "I don't care if you get mad at me, but I won't stand by and let you be reckless."

"You may be my husband, but you're not the boss of me. If I want to be reckless then I will be and you need to suck it up." She snapped, fishing her keys out of her purse and backed away towards her car. "I'm driving home alone. You can get back by yourself."

"Fine." Bill huffed, turning on his heels and shooting off towards the road while she ripped open her car door and got in with a loud groan of frustration as she smacked the wheel with the palm of her hands.

This was just a great way to end the night, in yet another fight with her husband. Would this ever end?

* * *

><p><em><span>Back at Fangtasia<span>_

"You are so hot!"

"Shut up."

"I mean it, you are like seriously the hottest vampire I have ever met. I can't believe you picked me out of all those other girls to feed on. I feel so lucky that it doesn't even hurt."

"I thought I told you to stop talking."

"You did, but I don't like the silence. And that slurping noise you make when you're drinking is kind of creepy. Can't you just like stop it?"

Eric rolled his eyes but he did not relinquish his hold on this strange girl and continued to drink from her neck slowly even though she was annoying him with incessant banter. She had been the one he chose outside in the parking lot when he arrived here earlier because she did look like Allison. She had brown hair and green eyes and was about Allison's height, but her face was nothing like the delicate features that had belonged to the woman he had loved. But that was ok because he wouldn't be looking at her as he feed, he just needed some small reminder that she looked similar to Allison and that was all. So he had told her to go around back to the door that led into his office while he went through the front so not to arouse suspicion and to make sure no one else tried to use the office. He spotted Godric and Pam but he didn't want to speak to either of them, he just wanted to feed and pretend it was Allison he was drinking from. He found the girl waiting for him in the back alley and pulled her inside, wasting no time in pulling her down into his lap and sinking his fangs into her neck. Her blood was boring, lacking the spark that Allison's blood had given him but then again, Allison had been special because she was a Faerie. This girl was nothing special, but it had been so long since he had fed on a human that it didn't matter to him. She looked like Allie and that was enough for him. He just wanted to have the feel of someone in his arms again while he fed...

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Godric's voice came into the room just seconds before his body did, his maker threw back the door and entered, a furious expression on his face as their eyes met and Godric saw what he was doing. "You're feeding on someone else? In your bar? Where that's forbidden?"

"I'm the owner, I can do whatever the hell I want." He growled, removing his fangs from the girl's neck and pushed her off him and pointed to the door. "Get out of here."

"Thanks for nothing." She snapped, clasping her hand over the two little wounds and moved towards the doorway but when she passed Godric, she paused and looked him up and down with interest. "Hey, you're kind of hot too..."

"Out." Godric pointed right out the door, his eyes turning dark and reflecting the inner fury he was battling on the inside. Once the girl had left the room entirely, Godric kicked the door shut and turned to him with his hands clenched. "I knew something was going on when you showed up tonight but Pam told me to leave it alone and I was willing to do that. But then I felt your hunger being quenched and I walk in here to find you doing this? How could yo be so stupid?"

"I needed to feed, I don't see the problem." Eric shrugged, wiping his blood stained lips with the back of his hand while not breaking the stare with his maker. "You should be happy that I am even out of the house."

"I am happy about that, Eric. You know I can't stand to see you hiding out the way you were." Godric's face softened slightly as it always did after his anger flared up suddenly. "But this was obviously the reason that you left your house, to come here and find a human to feed on.."

"So?" Eric didn't care what Godric was thinking at the moment. He only cared about himself and what he wanted to do. Godric being here was just throwing a wrench into those plans. "What's the big deal?"

"You don't see why I think you are being stupid and reckless? It has nothing to do with the fact that you are feeding on humans in your office when you have specifically banned it on the property and it has nothing to do with the fact that you are doing it at all. I know not every vampire can stomach the synthetic blood." Godric stood there with a frown, his normally gentle eyes looking him over as if expecting to find an answer there. "But this is about the fact that the first time you chose to feed on someone it just so happens to be a girl who bears a resemblance to Allison."

"Get to the point." Eric hit the desk with his fist, feeling his anger starting to build again like it had the other night when he had trashed his house. "What are you saying, that its wrong to feed on women who look like her?"

"That precisely it." Godric pointed his finger in the air. "You sought out a woman that looked like the one you just lost and you fed on her like there was nothing wrong at all wrong with it. She's not going to help you get past Allison's death. You can't just do this..."

"Actually I can and I just did. So fuck off and leave me alone." Eric told his maker, pushing back from the desk and stood up, grabbing his leather jacket. "You know what? I think I had about all the socializing I can stomach for one night. I think I will be going."

"You're not leaving Eric, we're not done here." Godric flashed before him, grabbing his arm tightly and using more force then he usually used when they were around each other. "We need to talk about this."

"I don't think so." Eric shook his head, already ready to fight back and with a quick thrust of his hand, he shoved Godric across the room and into a wall of shelves. He quickly shot out the back door and launched himself into the sky before his maker could come to and stop him. He didn't regret what he had just done because Godric had simply inserted himself into a situation that was none of his business and Eric was just taking charge. But still, from now on if he fed on other women, he wasn't going to do it at Fangtasia. Because unlike what Godric has said, Eric had no intention of stopping what he was doing. If he wanted to drink the blood of a thousand women who looked like Allison then he was going to do it and no one could tell him no.

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Alright, remind me again why we are here?."

"Aaron, I told you before that I needed to come back here to continue the resurrection process and I did not want to come by myself." Molly told the man standing next to her while she sat on the grass to the side of the grave and looked down at it with a smile. She had known Aaron for many years and he had been the one she had first went to since breaking apart from the Dallas coven when she needed someplace to hide out from their wrath. By now, Anna would have realized that Molly had betrayed them since she was no longer at headquarters and had gone into hiding to avoid being found. And Aaron had been the friend she turned to for help, just like she had turned to him when she needed a companion for this night and task."This was the night I had set aside to do this and I have to do it now because I won't be able to get back for a while."

"I just think it's crazy for you to be going through all this for someone." Aaron replied, sticking his hands deep into his pockets as she poured the vial of blood over the short blades of grass that now covered the grave site while one hand laid flat against the earth, her eyes closed as she performed this task and thought about what she was doing.

It had been a few weeks since she had last been here, which had been the night of Allison's funeral and the blood she had put into the grave had been enough to be sustained over the course of the past month. But the time had come to give more and she gladly was willing to do it because of what the end result would bring. It was going to take a while longer before she was able to achieve success since she had never done a resurrection before and wanted to make sure she did everything perfectly. But she had completely trust in her abilities to make sure this got done and no matter how much it took out of her, she was determined to see it through. It was just something that she felt she was destined to do. She needed to bring Allison back to life and send her home to those who loved her. She had been observing the group and they were all lost with out the tiny brunette, Allison had held them together and with her not there, they were scattered about the wind like fall leaves and there was no telling how far they would drift the longer Allison remained dead. So she needed to bring back Allison and right the wrong that Anna had made in the world when she took that girl's life.

"Alright, the blood exchange is over with for now." Molly said upon seeing the last drops of her blood spill from the edge of the vial and soak into the blades of grass in front of her. She tucked the small bottle into her pocket and stood up, brushing the dirt from her clothes and looking at her friend with a smile. "Alright, we can go now."

"Good, I hate hanging out in graveyards, they are way too creepy." Aaron shook his head apprehensively.

"You're 45 years old. How can you still be scared about being in a cemetery?" Molly asked with a grin as she watched her friend hurry towards the the entrance.

"Just because you're not afraid doesn't mean it doesn't apply to the rest of us." Aaron protested, coming to a stop by the gate when Molly paused to look back at Allison's grave. Aaron stuck his hands back in his pockets, looking at her hard before asking. "Can I ask why you are doing this?"

"Why wouldn't I do this?" Molly drew her head forward to look at her friend who was now watching her with a frown as if he were trying to decipher something. "What's with that look?"

"I just think its odd that you are doing all this. I mean, I've never done a resurrection spell, but I know what they entail and I find it hard to imagine anyone doing it at all." Aaron stated, his eyes drifting to the tombstone they had been at in the distance and sighed. "That's a lot of magic to do and you're also doing the blood exchange to make sure it works. Why would you put yourself through this for some random girl?"

"Because she's not some random girl." Molly answered honestly, turning her focus back to Allison's grave and smiled again before she started walking back to the car they had left by the road. "She's not random at all."


	4. Toxic Thoughts

**Chapter 4 Toxic Thoughts**

The smell of blood was in the air. It was heavy and fragrant but it wasn't from an attack. It was the amount that came when a human was willingly letting a vampire feed on them. And that was the case for what was going on inside the house at this very moment.

"Oh dear god Eric,not again." Godric groaned to himself as he pushed his way into the house and the smell of blood got stronger when he shut the door behind him and faced the large open hallway. He could tell that Eric wasn't that far away and was most likely either in the library or the living room here on the first floor and when he reached the first partially closed door, he got his answer. He felt a frown appear on his face as he walked into the room and caught sight of his child on the couch with a scantily clad brunette in his lap while he hungrily drank from her without even noticing that he had entered the room. The girl seemed to be enjoying this and upon closer inspection of her, Godric saw that she like the other one found in Eric's office, also bore a resemblance to Allison and that filled him with such disgust that he finally made his presence known. "Eric, I command you to stop this right now."

"You can't tell me what to do." His progeny protested, sending a dark look over at him like he wanted to shove him into the wall, but despite the fury that was radiating from him, Eric did remove his fangs from the girl's neck and push her off his lap. "You! Get the fuck out of here."

"But I was just..."

"Now!" Eric snapped, his voice so menacing that it made the girl jump in surprise before she turned and hurried out of the room, not even looking at either one of them before the front door slammed shut and left Godric to stare at his child in fury while the tall vampire just sat there very nonchalantly. He wiped his blood soaked lips with his fingers before turning his face to look across the room with a shrug of his shoulders. "What?"

"That's all you have to say for yourself is what?" Godric was appalled at Eric's inability to see that what he was doing was weird and unhealthy and just plain wrong. "Don't you understand that you shouldn't be going about dealing with your grief like this? It's not right."

"That's your opinion and I just so happen to disagree with it." Eric retorted, propping his feet up on the table in front of him like they were having a civilized conversation and not a talk about his ridiculous grieving methods. "And who says this has anything to do with my grief?"

"Don't try and play stupid Eric, you're way too smart for that." Godric rolled his eyes and clenched his fists down at his side as he walked over and took a seat on the couch across from his progeny. "This has everything to do with your grief because you are still feeding on women who look like Allison. If this was just about wanting to feed, you wouldn't be seeking out people who all look like her. So don't pretend like you're not aware of what you're doing because I know you all too well."

"I just don't see what the problem is. I'm not killing any of these women and they don't have to let me do it, they come willingly so I'm not doing anything wrong." Eric replied defensively, fully feeling like he was in the right with his actions despite the fact that they had underlining painful motives behind them. Eric sat back against the couch and shook his head. "You just have too much of a stick up your ass and you only ever see things in black and white."

"I'm going to let that slide because I know its only coming from a dark place." Godric told him, his eyes never leaving Eric's face. He had felt a stir from his child's words but he didn't allow himself to be bothered by it because if the grief wasn't there then Eric wouldn't be talking to him like this. "But I can't just let you do this to yourself. And I know why you're doing it."

"And why is that?" Eric crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows as if in a challenge. "Enlighten me."

"Although you are feeding on women who look like her, I fear that you are doing it to ultimately push Allison out of your head and heart and I'm telling you that it is not going to work." Godric watched Eric's face for any sign of dispute but there was none and that's how he knew he had hit the nail on the head. Eric wasn't just drinking these women because he wanted to feed, the reason was much deeper then that. He was trying to avoid his pain and grief in the only way he knew how. And that was by feeding on other women but it also provided him a sense of comfort because these women looked like the one that he wished he still had but couldn't. And that was just the saddest thing Godric had ever encountered. He looked at his child and said. "Eric, no matter how many times you feed on other girls who look like Allison, none of them will take her place or make you forget what she meant to you. It's not going to work."

"We'll see about that." Eric scoffed, getting to his feet and stuffed his hands into his pockets on his way out of the room. He turned back when he reached the doorway and his eyes were filled with a darkness that Godric had not seen in a while. "You may not think it will work but I can sure as hell try to forget and I intend to do that."

Godric could only watch his child storm out of the room and then out of the house with the deep sense that things were about to get a lot worse before they had any hope of getting better.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Bon Temps<span>_

"Tell me what you're thinking about my love." Bill said to Sookie as he turned over on his side to look at her where she laid beside him in bed, their naked bodies covered by only a single sheet. He reached over and ran his fingers across her bare collarbone and asked again for her to indulge him in what was keeping her mind occupied. "I know you have something bothering you and I want you to tell me what it is."

"I'm embarrassed to even bring it up." Sookie groaned, covering her face with both her hands as she was filled up with the image of herself yelling at her husband in the middle of the parking lot at Merlotte's. It didn't feel wrong in the moment because she had been so flooded with emotion that she didn't know enough to be shamed of her outburst. But now that she was lying next to him after they had just made love, she was reliving that night in her head and ever since he had moved off her, she had been quiet. She dropped her hands and turned her head to find him looking at her. "But I've been kind of tormenting myself with how I spoke to you the other night."

"You're referring to the night when you yelled at me again for no good reason?" Bill asked, raising his eyebrow at her as if was made evident that he hadn't let it go either. "Why are you feeling bad about that?"

"Because I shouldn't have yelled at you when you were only trying to help." She admitted, biting on the inside of her mouth as she spoke. "It wasn't right for me to scream at you yet again when you hadn't done anything wrong. And I know I say this a lot lately, but I'm sorry."

"Look..." He placed his hand on her cheek and laid his head on the pillow next to her. "I can take your screaming and outbursts because I know that it doesn't really have to do with me. But I won't lie to you and say it doesn't get to me because after the last time, it is getting to me."

"I completely understand, I would be getting fed up with my mood swings too if I were you. It just seems to be that the only way I can deal with the pain is to take it out on someone. And since you are always there, you always bear the brunt of it. Then you always forgive me, you're too understanding." Sookie shook his hand away, feeling that she didn't deserve her husband's comforting touch. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to put up with me anymore. I know my outbursts are a lot to deal with."

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't beginning to grow frustrated..." Bill didn't deny any negative feeling he was holding towards her and in a way it was good because he often forgave her too quickly and it left her feeling like he wasn't a strong presence to lean on if he gave in too quickly. But now he was pushing back. "I expected these reactions because we are all grieving and this is a normal part of the process. Its natural for someone to lash out. Just like it is natural for someone else to get annoyed by the lashing."

"Are you giving up on me?"

"I will never give up on you. Not now and not ever. I am here at your side for as long as you allow me." He told her, gaining her focus when he locked his arm around her and pulled her against him easily. "You are my wife and when we made our vows to each other we promised to always be there through the good times and the bad times. And losing Allie is one of the bad times. But no amount of yelling is going to make me forget my vows to you. I will hold true to them for the rest of my life."

"Sometimes I think I don't deserve you." She confessed, knowing how lucky she was that she was married to a vampire who was as understanding as he was. Most vampire and most humans would have walked away by now but not Bill. Bill just kept coming back for more punishment and even when he got annoyed with her, he would never leave and she couldn't have asked for anyone better to be by her side through this dark time. She moved closer to him, tucking her head under his chin and sighed. "Hey Bill?"

"Yea?"

"Do you think it ever goes away?" She asked quietly, her eyes staring at the wall as she spoke. " The pain, I mean. It feels so big and raw and infinite and I just can't imagine it ever going away."

"That's because its so new that its hard to think of it ever lessening, let alone going away." Bill answered, his arms holding on to her tightly as if letting her know he would never let her go. "But honestly, the pain never completely disappears. It hurts less over time but you never truly stop missing someone you lost. That's just how life works sometimes."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Eric? I think we need to talk." Pam's voice drifted through the haze that had settled in his head since the moment he had arrived here at Fangtasia and taken refuge in his office. But her voice did little more then to make him turn his head to see her closing the door behind her before he just went back to staring off into space like he had been for the past 2 hours.

After Godric had walked in on him feeding on yet another strange girl and yelled at him for it, Eric had left the house and had not returned. He didn't know where he was going to go or what he was going to do but there was no way he was going to staying in his house where Godric would continue to give him shit for what he was doing. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was beginning to feel stabs of guilt cut through him from what his maker had said. It was true, he was trying his hardest to replace Allison in his heart because he could no longer deal with feeling pain every time he thought of her. But he was stubborn and wasn't willing to agree with Godric on that so he had left. And after a few minutes of wandering around, he decided to go to Fangtasia and hide out in his office so he could at least clear his head of the frenzied thoughts that were now taking root in his head. He had arrived here and much like that first night, he had slipped through the crowd without speaking to any one and sat down behind his desk before slipping into his own head and getting lost in his thoughts. It was only when Pam spoke again that he was finally able to pull himself back into the present for good and he looked up to see Pam still standing near the door like she had when she arrived.

"What do you want?" He grumbled, leaning forward to prop his elbows up on the desk top and dropped his head into his hands. If he were human, this would be the point where he would feel a headache coming on. "Why are you bothering me?"

"I just wanted to check on you." She shot back, her eyes rolling sarcastically as she moved forward with her arms crossed over herself and sat down in the chair across from him. She looked him up and down before saying. "You look like shit."

"At least you're talking to me normally." He growled, pushing aside her comment and was just satisfied that she wasn't speaking to him in that annoying gentle tone Godric had been using for over a month now. That would have been what sent him further over the edge. He lifted his head and met her eyes. "I'm fine."

"No you're not, you look like you haven't slept in days." She pointed out, her eyes narrowing as she looked over him. "I've never seen you in such bad shape before."

"I've never experienced a loss like this before, that's why." He huffed, feeling that same knife of pain stab him in the chest whenever he thought about what he didn't have. He shook his head and wiped his upper lip where a drop of blood had rolled down from his nose. "It was different when I lost my family when I was still human. Back then I could feel more easily. But since I became a vampire accessing those emotions was harder and when Allison was with me, I put a lot of work into bringing up my love for her. And now she's gone and I feel like all that work was for nothing."

"Is that why you suddenly started coming here again instead of hiding out in the house all the time?" Pam questioned, her eyes lighting up curiously as she leaned closer to the desk and folded her hands on top of it. "Because you've been gone for weeks and then out of the blue you just show up now. And I'm just wondering why that is."

"Its because I need a different place beside the house to clear my head." He told her blankly, flashing back to the decision he had begun to make on his way here. He had briefly let it come over him and when he was sitting in his office,it was really starting to take form. He looked at Pam and upon seeing the confusion on her face, he went on. "I need to center my thoughts before I go from here."

"And do what?" Pam frowned, her pretty features scrunching up as the seriousness of what he was saying was beginning to set in on her. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do what I promised I would do." He shrugged, the image of Allison's face appearing in his mind from the night she had made him promise to avenge her should the moment call for it. Well the time was here and he was going to go through with it. He had to or else he would go through life knowing he didn't keep his promise to the woman he loved. He met his progeny's eyes one more time and said. "I made Allison a promise and I won't betray my last words to her. I am doing what I should have done weeks ago."

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"Godric, we need to talk right away." Pam's voice filled his ears seconds before she yanked him away to the side of the bar where there was very little privacy to be held but she did it anyway. "We have a problem."

"What are you talking about?" Godric felt his face tighten into a frown and for a second he almost regretted coming here tonight. He had already encountered enough problem when he walked into Eric's house and he didn't really want to deal with any more for the rest of tonight but it seemed like Pam had other ideas. "What's the problem?"

"The same problem it has been for the last few weeks. Eric of course." Pam exclaimed, her hands going up in the air like she was annoyed he hadn't already assumed that it was Eric. "He's been here for the last few hours and I just talked to him and now I'm worried."

"You? Worried? Now that must be serious." Godric couldn't help but tease her a little bit since it had been so long since they had a lighthearted moment. But when Pam didn't respond with her usual sarcastic remark, he quickly went serious and asked "What did he say that makes you think there is a problem?"

"He said he came here to clear his head so he could go on and fulfill a promise he made to Allison before she died." Pam explained, her well manicured hands running through her hair before she leaned forward and said. "I think he plans on going after the rest of the Dallas coven..."

Godric didn't even let her finish what she was going to say because what she just told him was enough to make him rush away from that spot and disappear behind the door and into the hallway that would bring him to Eric's office. He didn't even knock and just charged through the partially opened door and found his progeny sitting behind the desk with his chin in his hands and a blank look in his eyes. But once Godric walked in and stood in front of the desk, Eric seemed to snap out of it and looked up at him expectantly. Godric crossed his arms, not about to beat around the bush. He wanted answers and he was going to get them, even if he had to drag it out of Eric.

"Is it true?" He demanded, glaring down at the taller vampire with a mixture of disgust and worry at the actions about to occur. "Is what Pam said true? Are you really going to go after the rest of the Dallas coven?"

"Yes." Eric replied instantly, offering no resistance which was not what Godric was expecting. In the past when ever Eric had a crazy idea in store and was confronted about it, he had always tried to be sly about it and pretend like it wasn't true. But here he was, coming right out to meet it head on and wasn't deny it. That was so not like Eric. "It is true. I have made the decision to finish killing off the coven like we should have done that night."

"Eric, no you can't possibly be serious." Godric tried to reason with him, knowing that if Eric followed through and did this then Godric couldn't let that happen. "Going after the Dallas witches is insane."

"No, it's just vengeance." He replied back, sitting up straight with a determined glare in his eyes, the first sign of true life that Godric had seen since Allie had passed away. "They killed her and now I'm going to kill them."

"That's crazy talk and it's going to get yourself killed which is why I suspect you want to do this." Godric snapped, his worry being masked by the tone in his voice. "I won't let you throw yourself into danger just so you hope it kills you and you can join Allison. It's not going to happen."

"This is not about me trying to get myself killed, even though I wouldn't mind it happening if I got to see her again." Eric's face was filled with a sudden wave of sadness and anguish that nearly made Godric want to reach out and embrace his child to try and take away that pain. But it soon passed and Eric was back to looking serious. "But I won't do that because I made two promises to Allison before she died. One, that I wouldn't try and follow her into death if she died. And two, that if she did die, then I would find some way to avenge her death. And I plan on doing just that."

"It's too dangerous Eric and we don't have an army like we did the last time. You can't do this." Godric had a horrible feeling that if he didn't change Eric's mind now, then something terrible was going to happen. "Eric please..."

"I'm doing this whether you like it or not...And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

**A/N: Thanks for all the great feedback i have been getting. Im glad so many of you stuck with this series and i promise you all that we are nearing the chapter when our heroine comes back to life. So close to the resurrection...please review**


	5. Pushing back

**Chapter 5 Pushing back **

"You know what? I'm glad you suggested we go for a walk. It's been nice and calming which I really needed as of late." Sam said to her with a genuinely serene look on his face as they strolled along the trail in the late afternoon sun together. He hadn't wanted to leave the bar when her break came up, saying that he should stay and get some paperwork done that had been piling up. But she kept on pushing at it and he relented finally. Now he was expressing his gratitude to her for pulling him away from the bar even if it were only for 20 minutes. But she has seen the weariness starting to wear him down and she wanted to get him so they could talk. They hadn't talked seriously in a long time.

"How have you been doing Sam?" She asked, tilting her head to the side while she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "I mean, I don't think I have asked how you have been dealing with the grief in a while. Actually I don't think I ever asked you."

"No you did, once about 3 weeks ago when it was the end of your shift and you were getting ready to leave. You were working in the morning and you came into the office to get your things. That's when you asked me." He retorted, recounting that moment which she did now remember. He shrugged his shoulders through his Merlotte's shirt before saying. "But to answer your question, I'm dealing with it in whatever way I can. And that happens to be with not thinking about it too much or else it becomes too painful."

"Oh trust me, I get where you're coming from because I do that a lot myself." She sided with him on that because at times that had been the exact way that she had thought it would be best to cope. That maybe if she didn't think about it and pushed it out of her mind then the pain would become less and while for the moment it did work, the pain always returned and worse then it was before. "But I also do it in addition to fighting with Bill constantly because its the only way I can get out all the pain."

"There is way too much pain but the fact that we are all suffering like this means that Allison meant a lot to us, that she made her mark on a lot of people before she died. So in some way our pain is a testament to how beloved she was."

"I would rather it not be like that. I don't want to feel all this. It's too much."

"I know what you mean, it is torture to deal with all these things that come after you lose someone." Sam agreed, his hands going inside his jeans pockets as they kept on walking. "I mean, as if the grief isn't bad enough, losing her brings up all the things I ever did wrong and can now never correct. Damn it, I was so horrible to her..."

"Oh no you don't, don't you dare start doing that to yourself." Sookie immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop in the middle of the trail. "Do not make yourself feel bad for everything that happened between you and Allison. And don't even think about it too much..."

"How can I not? All I have thought about is how she is not here anymore and that makes me think of all the things I was suppose to fix by now." Sam protested, his handsome face twisting into a frown. "I was going to sit her down and really apologize for how I acted when I saw her in Mystic Falls. I was going to take back all the cruel things I ever said to her. I was suppose to tell her how much our friendship meant to me and I would never jeopardize it ever again for anything. But now I can't do that. And I have to live with my mistakes for the rest of my life."

"Allie knew you weren't really that person who said and did all those things, she knew you weren't really like that. She wouldn't want you to torture yourself forever over this." She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed gently. "She would want you to forgive yourself. She would say that if she could right now."

"I really want to believe that, but I can't help but remember everything that I can't make right." Sam sighed and looped his arm through hers as they started walking again just so they wouldn't be standing there staring at each other. "I don't know how we're suppose to make it through this."

"In time we will...or at least that's what I keep trying to make myself believe."

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

"You...are...out..of ..your..mind."

"That's the 3rd time you have said that since you got here."

"I have to repeat myself or it may never hammer into your head that this is a really bad idea."

"I don't think it is a bad idea, you just think that because you disagree."

"It is dangerous. What don't you get about that?"

"It's only dangerous if they hurt me first...so I just have to make sure that never happens."

Godric was ready to throw his hands up and admit defeat. He had come over here to Eric's house tonight in the hopes that a night away from each other would make his child more open to what he was being told. He and Eric had parted on bad terms last night after he had confronted his child with what Pam had told him but he was fairly certain that if they had enough time to cool down and let sanity be restored then maybe they could talk to each other like they use to. But that just simply was not the case. And it hadn't been in a long time but it was never more prominent then it was now. Because that time away had not made a lick of difference, Eric was still as adamant about going after the Dallas coven as he had been last night and Godric was at the end of his tether about what to do. He couldn't just walk away and let Eric do whatever the hell he wanted without t least trying to talk him out of it. Because if he just let Eric go off and do this and didn't try and stop it, then any pain or anguish that came would be on Godric because he just sat by and let it happen. And even more then that, he loved Eric and it would kill him if anything happened to him. So he had to say something, anything that would or could change Eric's mind.

"I'm going to try one more time to get through to you when I say this." Godric clenched his hands into tight fists, his arm laying straight at his sides as he watched his child sitting back on the couch nonchalantly. "Going after the the coven is a bad idea, its a dangerous idea. And Allison would hate that you were going to put yourself in harm's way like this."

"See, that's where you and I disagree yet again because it's not a bad idea in my eyes. And Allison wouldn't hate it because she was the one who asked me in the first place to get revenge if she died." Eric reminded him yet again of that damn promise and for a second Godric felt a rush of anger go through him towards the dead girl for having her make Eric agree to that promise. Surely she had no idea it would actually be followed through on, but still, making it at all was crazy because now Eric was doing it. "You may hate it and think I should forget it but I can't. I promised her I would do it for her and you can't ask me to betray that promise."

"Actually I could..." Godric cut in, treading on dangerous ground because he was now about to pull out the ammunition that he did not ever want to have to use, especially in this situation. "I could always command you not to do it. If I think you need to be kept safe then I will command you to stay in this house."

"You would never do that and you know how I can say that with such certainty?" Eric asked, leaning forward with his arms on his knees and a devious smirk on his lips that spelled trouble. "I know you..and I know you would never take my free will away in these...dark times."

"Are you mocking me?" Godric found himself asking, frowning at the fact that Eric would throw this back in his face to use as a weapon. Godric always knew he was sometimes too much of a pushover with Eric and the not commanding him thing had a lot to do with it because he felt like it wasn't right to command a vampire to behave in a different manner just because you felt it was better. And now Eric was taking advantage of that kindness. He looked at Eric, who was watching him with that damn smirk and he felt a flash of anger come over him. "Don't you ever take my kindness for granted because it won't always be there."

"This is not about you and it never has been." Eric said, his smirk dimming as he spoke. "This has always been about the promise made between Allison and me. It was just the two of us here on that night, not you and not the others. Just her and I. So don't put yourself in the middle of it if it doesn't concern you."

"You're my progeny and when you go out to seek danger and a fight that is bound to affect your life in some way, its always going to concern me." Godric stated, trying to make Eric understand where he was coming from. "You would be reacting the same way if it were you in my position and it was Pam trying to go out and start a fight."

"I'm not in your position and I thought you would understand why this is so important to me." Eric turned his head to look at the fire and watched the dancing flames. "I thought you would want to hurt the people who hurt and killed Allison. I thought you loved her as well."

"I do love her Eric, you know that. But I don't think risking more lives is the best way to honor her memory." Godric was practically pleading with his child at this point, but he could see it in Eric's eyes that there was no shaking him from this stance. "Eric please..."

"Just stop it already, I made my decision and I have to do this."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Uh Bill? Why are you just sitting there staring off in to space like that?" Sookie's voice broke through his haze of thoughts and he turned his head from the fire he was staring at and saw his wife hovering in the doorway in her uniform with her purse hanging from her hand. He had been sitting in his office with only the desk light on while he just observed the way the flames were dancing in the fireplace. He obviously didn't need the fire for warmth, he just liked looking at it. And soon he had found himself transfixed by the sight and he hadn't come out of it for what had to be a few hours because Sookie had just gotten home from work and she had been gone when he had awoken. She stood there now looking tired but curious at the sight of him just sitting there in near darkness. She raised her eyebrows as their eyes met and she asked. "Are you ok?"

"I am perfectly alright." He assured her, a smile unfolding on his lips and he pushed his chair back from the desk and beckoned her with his hand. "Come here."

"Something is up with you, I can tell." Sookie pointed out, but she still dropped her bag on the floor and came over to the desk and walked around it to the chair where he proceeded to reach for her arm and tug her down into his lap. She sat across his legs without resistance and when she was settled, she looked down at him curiously. "Ok seriously, what is going on?"

"Why do you always think something is going on?" Bill asked innocently, enjoying the urge to tease her that was rising up in him.

"Because you have this odd look on your face that's why." She said back, her fingers brushing against his jaw. "This is one of those times when I wished it were possible to read a vampire's mind."

"You are so paranoid my darling little wife..." Bill shook his head as he wrapped his arms around the blonde. "Can't you just relax for once and stop being such a hard ass?"

"Bill!"

"Sookie!"

"Hey stop that, I mean it."

"So do I."

"You're being very immature."

"As are you and maybe that is exactly what the two of us need right now." He pointed in a semi serious tone, watching her face go from playful to guarded. "I mean, I know we are in a grieving period right now, but it is also alright to laugh and smile once in a while. It wouldn't be an insult or anything."

"You're saying that being immature is a better way to grieve?" She asked, her ponytail dropping over her shoulder as she moved her head back and forth. "I think you've lost your mind."

"I don't know if it is a better way to mourn Allison, but I think it would be a nice change from sitting around and crying. Or having you yell at me." He joked, chuckling at the narrowed stare she sent at him before tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I mean, I get that we need to cry because it was a loss. But then I think about what Allison would say if she saw how we were doing and you know she would..."

"...tell us to stop being babies and go on with our lives? Yea, she would definitely say that." Sookie finished for him and for the first time in a very long time, there was a true smile on her face. It wasn't strained or forced, it was a real one and he couldn't have been more thrilled. He had missed seeing her smile and he had feared it would never return. "Allie always did say that no matter what else was going on, the thing we should always make the top priority was love. That was what she believed in the most."

"Well, she wasn't the only one who believed that." Bill pointed out, touching her face with his hand. "I may not have a lot of faith in the world, but the one thing I know that will never decrease is how much I love you."

"You are very charming this evening and I have to say it's been one of the better nights that we have had." She replied, leaning forward to kiss his lips before leaning her forehead against his. "And I love you too."

"Allie would be so happy for us." He laughed, thinking of the tiny brunette they both missed and wished was still here. She wasn't coming back but she was still with them and they wouldn't mourn her forever and tonight seemed to be setting them on a path where it would be ok to move away from this sadness. He looked at Sookie with a smirk and asked. "You know what else I think Allie would approve of us doing right about now?"

"Oh...I think I do." She answered back with a smirk of her own before she took his hand and stood up. "But I think it would be more fun to follow through with that upstairs...in the shower."

"Oh yes, this is a very good night."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"You're being crazy."

"No I'm not. I'm perfectly sane."

"You haven't thought it through."

"Yes I have, I just need a plan of attack."

"You're acting recklessly because of some crazy promise that will ultimately get you seriously wounded or dead. Is that what you want?"

"I want to fulfill my promise and I will not set out to die,but if I die in the process then at least I met the true death knowing I tried to stay true to the woman in loved."

"I cannot take any more of this Eric...you are putting yourself in a dangerous situation when you do not need to. This is not the way to deal with your grief. You're using it as an easy way to get yourself killed by masking it as a way to keep your word. That's not honorable, that's insane."

Eric kept his narrowed eyes on his maker as they both stomped back and forth, from wall to wall on opposite sides of the room while they screamed at each other for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Godric hadn't left once since he showed up earlier and since then they had continued to butt heads over his violent way of dealing with his grief, which was to go after the coven and slaughter them all. Godric had been stating the same point over and over again for the last few hours, that it was dangerous and stupid and he was acting crazy. And Eric found himself also saying the same thing, that he was fulfilling a promise and wanted to keep his word to Allison. And soon they were at a crossroads with neither of them wanting to budge even the slightest. It wasn't all surprising considering that Godric, although calm and collected, could lose his shit just as easily as Eric could. But Godric rarely ever showed that side of him until now. Now he was willing to let it all out if it meant changing Eric's mind. But Eric knew that wasn't going to happen. He had made a promise and last night he had finally decide to go through with it. He told Allison he would avenge her death and he would, but first he had to get Godric off his back which was proving to be a harder task then he thought.

"You need to grow the hell up and stop acting like a newborn." Godric broke the silence, bringing them both to turn and look at each other at the same time and Eric was taken aback by the look of darkness in his maker's eyes. "I've tried to understand your pain and I have allowed you to mourn in your own way even though it pained me, but this is not something I can allow."

"I'm not doing this as some kind of dig at you. I'm doing it for Allison and for myself." Eric shot back, not willing to back down. His choice was locked in and there was no turning back now. "What, would you rather I sit up there in her room and never leave the house?"

"Of course not, that was the most painful thing I have ever seen." Godric's face completely lost the stubborn look and he appeared to be in agony. "I don't ever want to see you do that again."

"Would you want me to go around and destroy everything in this house?"

"No, I know how much this house means to you and I wouldn't want you to destroy your home." Godric shook his head,his eyebrows pulled low in his forehead. "I don't want you to lash out like that either."

"Then what the fuck do you want me to do?" Eric shouted, resisting the urge to rush across the room at the shorter vampire because he didn't want to hurt his maker,but he was really beginning to feel the strains of his patience growing thinner and thinner. "Just fucking spit it out."

"I don't want you to re-ignite the war!" Godric exclaimed, his calm eyes blazing up with a fire that was rarely seen with his calm demeanor and he ended being the one to rush across the room. Eric found himself being grabbed by the arms and thrown backwards into a chair set against the wall before Godric leaned over him with a glare. "You go after the rest of the coven then you will be starting it up again. And it will bring more death then there already is. So the fact that you're even considering doing it is a testament to how little you even thought this through."

"You are really working my last nerve." Eric growled, reaching up with his hands on Godric's shoulders and using all his energy, he threw his maker across the room where he crashed into a bookshelf before falling to the carpet with piles of books raining down on him. Godric wasn't hurt in the slightest, but Eric still took pride in the fact that he had forced his maker away from him. He didn't feel bad about it because he was fed up with the negativity and lack of support he was getting. He watched Godric get back up to his feet before he spoke again. "You know what? You need to just stay out of my life."

"Excuse me?" Godric frowned, kicking at a pile of books at his in anger. "How dare you even say that to me, I know you're not serious."

"Actually I am and you want to know why?" Eric asked, feeling his entire body being over come with rage and it was about to explode out of his mouth in a truly damaging way. "Because ever since Allison brought you back to life, you have been nothing but a pain in my ass and I wish you hadn't come back."

"I know you are only saying this because you're hurting over Allison and also because you don't like that I'm disagreeing with you on the revenge thing..." Godric began to say, his calm face going blank as he actually started to move towards the door, intending to leave. "But I am deeply offended by what you just said to me."

Eric watched his maker leave, knowing he had partially destroyed all the progress they had made between them, but at that point in time he just did not have room to care. He was going through with his revenge and he had been hoping to have support but Godric could not give that to him. And if that was how it was going to be, then he did not want Godric around.

Even if he did need his maker now more then ever.

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

"Once again I need to remind you that this is crazy and spooky and frankly, it scares the shit out of me."

"Aaron will you just relax already? You're getting on my nerves again." Molly said to him over her shoulder as she knelt down in the dirt at Allison's grave and finished pouring the blood into the hole she had created. Once the glass was empty and the hole had been covered, she wiped the dirt from her fingers and settled more fully on the ground now that the t ask was over with. She looked back at her friend and sighed. "Come on, you go with me to this graveyard every few days and it still freaks you out? You need to grow a pair already. You're a freaking witch and yet you are terrified of an empty graveyard."

"You weren't the one that got terrorized by your big sister when you were 8 when she brought you to a graveyard at night, that was me." Aaron protested, looking around him cautiously like he expected some kind of monster to come jumping out of the treeline to attack them. "I may be a witch but that shit still haunts me to this day. I still haven't forgiven my sister for that."

"You are one in a million, that's for sure." Molly told him with a smile, rolling her eyes. "But you can rest easy, we won't be here for that much longer."

"Well that's a relief." He replied, his body language loosening up at the prospect of leaving soon and he even walked over and took a seat next to her on the grass, propping his arms up on his knees and eying the grave with a curious expression on his face. "You know I still can't believe that you are resurrecting Allison Stackhouse."

"And I can't believe you're still asking me that after all these weeks of coming here." Molly said back, turning her head to look at the tombstone and she felt a shudder go through her when she looked at the date of birth and the date of death. That poor girl, only 23 years old. It was so wrong for it to end the way it had for her. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that."

"Because I don't understand it at all. You put yourself in danger by trying to take down that coven from the inside and now you're performing a resurrection that is taking a sacrifice on your part to do. And I don't even know why." Aaron shrugged his shoulders, his fingers twisted together as he spoke. "Seriously, why are you trying to resurrect her?"

"Haven't we already gone over this?" Molly sighed, her eyes going from the tombstone to Aaron's face. She knew he had been hungry for answers and although he was one of her closest friends, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him what was really going on. "Allison Stackhouse was killed too young and way before her time. She wasn't suppose to leave this world just yet."

"I've known you a long time and I know when you're lying. So forgive me when I say this, but I'm calling your bullshit." Aaron stated, turning his body completely to face her. "Tell me why you're really doing this."

"That is why I'm doing this...she was too young when she died." Molly shrugged, making sure to keep her face steady. "I'm just trying to fix a wrong in the world."

"No...that's not it." He shook his head, his face and eyes showing that he doubted the lies she was putting forth and probably didn't believe any of the lies she had told him in the weeks before this. He grabbed her hands in his. "We've watched other witches do other shitty things and we've seen plenty of young people lose their lives before their time. And you've never had such a desperate desire to do a resurrection before. So why now? Why her? What makes her so different from the others?"

"She just is, that's all." She pulled her hands away from his and stood up, stuffing the glass vial in her coat pocket before she began walking away from the grave with Aaron hot on her heels. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop and she looked up at him in annoyance. "What?"

"She means something to you...Allison, means something doesn't she?" He asked with a frown, his hand dropping away and into his jacket pockets. "You wouldn't be doing this unless she meant something to you and judging by the look on your face, I know I am right. So just tell me why."

Molly looked back to the grave and sighed. She should have known that she couldn't have done this without Aaron demanding to know more. He knew her all too well and he of all people would not be satisfied with the same old answer she had been feeding him not just for the past few weeks but for the past few months. If there was anyone in her life that she could trust with this little bit of information, then it would be Aaron. She felt tears well up in her eyes, blurring her vision of Allison's tombstone before she turned to look at him and let go of the thing she had been holding back for so long.

"She's my daughter."

**A/N: Dun dun dun! and finally i got to reveal the big secret i have been holding back since the first fic...and boy was it a big one...Allison's birth mother is molly...and Molly is going to be the one to resurrect Allie...and we are so close...not too long now**


	6. I've had enough, it's time to fly

**Chapter 6 I've had enough, it's time to fly**

"Hey Allie, sorry it's been a while since I was last here. But things have been kind of tough lately." Sookie found herself saying out loud as she approached her deceased cousin's tombstone and sat down on the grass as if Allie was right there in front of her. She was glad the cemetery was empty or else people she knew would be witnessing her talking to herself and the last thing she needed right now was having people talk about her more then they already were. But that was all pushed to the side as she settled on the ground next to Allie's grave. Even though Allison was lying underneath the earth, Sookie still wanted to believe she could listen because she just needed some time with her cousin, even if she was only here in spirit. "Like I said, it's been really tough since you died and things just seem to be going down hill a lot."

That was an understatement. Things were wrong all the time lately. If she wasn't yelling at her husband then she was shouting at strangers in the middle of the day. She spent a lot of her nights crying and the other nights were spent in her own little haze that neither Sam or Bill could break her out of. The days and nights all blended together because they all started and ended the same so it was hard to differentiate them from one another.

"I don't know how to start moving from this. I never thought I would lose you. I always had this vision that we would both live long lives and be at each others weddings and experience all the things we were suppose to experience. And now, its just me and I don't know to do it on my own." Sookie admitted, tucking her hair behind her ears when the wind blew it in front of her eyes. "I don't know how to go on without you."

Sure she had her friends and her husband and her brother. But it was different when Allie was still alive. Her and Allie were so close that they couldn't even be called cousins. They were more then that. They were sisters and best friends and each others other half. So when Allie died, Sookie partially died as well. All though out their lives they had always leaned on each other for support when it came to anything, whether it be school, love, money or anything. Allie was always there and now that she wasn't, Sookie just did not know what she was suppose to do.

"You know, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I sneak out to where our house use to be because I feel closer to you there. And sometimes I even imagine that you will be there waiting for me. Crazy huh?" Sookie chuckled at her sometimes wacky behavior. It was true that she did get up at night and go over to the old property and if she was half asleep then she would think that Allie would appear to her, even in ghost form. But she never did and Sookie began to think how stupid she was for thinking that. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her legs and looked up at the sun starting to lower. "You were the glue that held us together, especially me. And since you died, I have become someone I don't even recognize. I can't even remember the last time I woke up and didn't hate the day before it began."

Sookie truly did not like the person she had become. She wasn't this bitter and angry person who wallowed and sulked her life away. Sure she had gone through tragedy before plenty of times. But Allie and her had been so close that it stung and festered a lot more when she died. And feeling like you were only half there now, it changed you and how you acted. She didn't want to be like this, but she didn't know how to get past it.

"I miss you Allie, we all miss you. You touched so many lives and it's not fair that you're not here with us. You were suppose to be here always. It's was my job to make sure of that." Sookie found her eyes welling up with tears as she was hit with a sudden wave of sadness over a memory she had kept pushed to the back of her mind for a while now. She sighed heavily and looked down at the grave wishing more then ever that Allie was here with her so she didn't sound like a total crazy person when she said this. "Do you remember that promise I made to you when we were younger..."

It was a promise made when they were kids so many years ago, right after Allison's parents had taken their own lives. It was the day of the funeral and night had just fallen when Sookie had gotten out of bed and tiptoed down the hall to Allie's room where she found her cousin awake and in bed. Sookie had walked right on in and crawled onto the bed to lay beside the tiny brunette while they both cried together over their losses. Allie was two years younger then her and even though they both were kids, Sookie had felt the maternal desire even back then to look after this little girl she considered to be her sister. So she cuddled up next to Allie when the smaller girl had said she was afraid of the world without her parents. And Sookie, only a child herself, had assured her cousin that she didn't have to worry because Sookie would protect her forever and nothing bad would ever happen. A promise that she thought she would always be able to hold true to.

"I guess it was stupid of me to try and cheat fate, even back then." Sookie sniffled, feeling the tears leave her eyes and roll down her cheeks faster then they had appeared. She reached over and placed one of her hands flat on the grave and whispered. "I'm so sorry I didn't keep my promise...I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nightfall<span>_

"Will you stop looking at me like that? It's driving me crazy."

"That's because this whole thing is crazy and you know it...deep down I know that you know this is not how you should be doing things."

"Do we really need to go over this again? I thought we already talked about this...you think its wrong but I think I'm right...discussion over..."

"This is not over until I say it is over Eric."

"Oh I think it is, Godric." Eric threw back in his maker's face as the two of them stood in the middle of his living room like they had the past few nights and disagreed on what the right course of action was since he had decided to go after the last of the witches. Godric had shown up here not long after the sun had gone down and almost immediately had started voicing his opinion, almost like he thought if he started talking sooner then Eric would change his mind but that was not going to happen. And he was going to make sure Godric knew it. "You know I'm not going to go back on my word so why do you keep trying to make me do that?"

"Because I know you are making a mistake and I won't stand by and let you act so foolishly without trying my absolute hardest to stop you." Godric spat out, his calm eyes clouding over with a stormy expression that didn't quite take away the look of concern he was wearing. "Eric, I know you want to avenge Allison, I get that. But to run out looking for danger without a plan is a sure fire way to get yourself killed."

"I won't get killed and I won't be looking for danger. Once I have a plan in mind then I will go after them." Eric protested, clenching his teeth tightly from his side of the room. Lately whenever he and Godric got together to talk, they put as much distance between them as they could when they were in the same room to avoid physically hurting each other. And with their conversations from the past few nights, they had almost comes to real blows more then once. He looked at the shorter vampire and said. "You just need to back off and let me do this."

"I can't." Godric shook his head in defiance. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this. I can't let you go through with something like this because I don't think it is just about revenge. I fear you are hoping death comes to you."

"And that would be a problem?" Eric asked with a sneer, knowing that Godric was partially right because in the beginning he had been hoping to die because then he could see Allie again. But then he remembered the first part of the promise and knew he couldn't get himself killed if he exacted his revenge. But Godric was getting on his nerves so much that he just had to keep pushing at the very buttons that would bother his maker. "It wasn't wrong for you to seek out death so why is it different for me?"

"Don't you dare throw that back in my face Eric. I am still your maker and you respect me whether you like it or not." Godric's eyes narrowed to the point where he began to look like the unhinged vampire he used to be hundreds of years ago. "And as for my own desire to die, that was a different time and I was a different person. And you are better then I ever will be and I don't want you to go down the path I was on."

"I will take whatever comes to me." Eric hissed, rolling his eyes as he paced back and forth across the carpet. "And once again back the fuck off."

"Do not speak to me like that when I have done nothing to deserve it." Godric growled, not sounding like himself which had been happening a lot. "I'm trying to help you..."

"I didn't ask for your help, you just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong. So you cant get bent out of shape because I'm not responding the way you want." Eric pointed out with his eyebrows raised, he was going too far and about to go over the line and he should have started to reel himself in right about now but he didn't. "Why don't you just run off and leave me alone?"

"You're my child, my son...I can't let you face this." Godric shook his head again, his face filling up with a sadness that had not been seen in so many years. "This darkness will consume you if you let it."

"Then maybe that's just something that I will have to accept." Eric paused in his spot by the wall, his eyes practically glaring holes through the floor. "Just stop trying to save me."

"I'm always going to try and save you, that's just a fact." Godric piped up quietly, any anger leaving his face in that moment as they both looked up and met each others eyes. "Eric, I am begging you not to..."

"Damn you! Why don't you get it?" Eric snapped, flashing across the room with his hands meeting Godric's shoulders roughly. His maker could have shoved him away easily since he did have a thousand years on Eric but he didn't. He allowed Eric to push him up against the wall, knocking down some hanging pictures in the process as he stared daggers into Godric's face. "I don't want to be saved. I just want to fucking kill those bitches who took Allison away from me. And if you don't stop getting in the way, then I will shut you up myself."

"You can't push me away with your words..." Godric easily removed his hands and gently shoved him back. "I'm not going anywhere..."

"Well perhaps you should, because I can't stand the sight of you." Eric found himself yelling as something snapped inside of him and he found himself losing all control of what was coming out of his mouth. "I don't want you around anymore. I ….I hate you."

"I know you don't mean that, that you're just saying it because you hate that I'm pushing back at you. But despite my understanding, I am getting really sick and tired of your outbursts. You can only push me so far before I have had enough." Godric shot back, his face going blank as he edged his way towards the doorway and motioned between the two of them. "And this...this is my breaking point."

Eric watched with an equally blank expression as his maker walked calmly to the door, his composure never wavering as he walked out of the house and left Eric alone. Once all was quiet, Eric felt himself starting to shake apart at the seams and he had to grab on to the back of the sofa to calm himself. He had finally done it. He had pushed Godric out of his life, not just for the moment,but perhaps forever. And it was by a statement that he didn't even mean. But as always, he had allowed his emotions to get the best of him. And now they were coming back to bite him in the ass.

He truly was alone in this now.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Bon Temps<span>_

"Hello Allison, it's good to see you again." Bill said quietly as he walked through the empty cemetery with his hands thrust deep into his pockets and approached the grave site of his cousin in law and came to a stop. He knew it must look weird for a vampire to be standing all alone in a graveyard when most of his kind would be out feeding on innocent humans, but he didn't feed from anyone besides his wife and more importantly, he needed this time alone to speak to Allison.

Even if she couldn't speak back.

"It's been tough you know, trying to go on without you. Some nights I don't think its possible." Bill stated, lowering himself down to the ground and propping his arms up on his knees as he looked at her tombstone. "I never realized how much we depended on you to take care of us by always keeping us going and pushing us forward. And now we have to figure out how to do that for ourselves and its tougher then any of us thought."

It didn't matter that most of the group were vampires and were stronger then everything else on the planet, but when it came to be emotionally strong, they had always leaned on Allison for guidance through that. She had always been there to help them channel it and make it easier to deal with. She was like a filter for them, making the bad stuff easier to take on. But she had left them so suddenly that they weren't prepare to do this on their own. And they were foundering.

"It's been so hard on everyone in so many different ways. But we all agree that it's been toughest on Sookie and Eric. I mean we were all were close, but they were the absolute closest to you by far." Bill pointed out, thinking of the two tormented souls that were fighting tooth and nail to move past this. It wasn't often that he felt sympathy towards Eric, but despite all of Eric's shortcomings, he had loved Allison and that was evident to them all. Sookie had lost a piece of her self that night and may never get it back and it killed Bill to feel her pain and sometimes he just couldn't take it. "They are lost without you."

It had been a while since any of them had last seen Eric, but they knew from talking to Pam and Godric that the viking vampire was lashing out all over the place now. In the beginning, he had taken to just sitting there in Allison's room, never speaking and never moving. And then he appeared to have snapped and lost his damn mind. He began trashing his own house and he started to hunt down human girls who looked like Allison so he could feed on them. Godric had expressed his disgust over Eric's grieving methods but he had been unable to reel his child in, short of commanding him. And Bill could understand why he wasn't doing that. Eric, despite the rage and intense outbursts, was still in a great deal of pain and taking away his free will was just going to make things worse. Eric appeared to be going through the grieving stages, but he was stuck on anger and seemed all too happy to remain there for a while. Godric was at a loss of how to help and so was Bill. There may not be anything they could do to help the people they loved from this anguish. It just had to run its course and they would just be forced to watch. So Bill could understand why it hurt Godric so much to see Eric acting like this. Bill was going through the same thing with Sookie.

He thought the crying and hiding away was bad enough but that had been a mistake on his part to think. It was torturous to see his wife in so much pain and he didn't think it could get worse then that but it did. The yelling and unhinged rage was horrible because it was not in Sookie's nature to act like that. Sookie was not an angry person and yet that was what she turned in to after Allie's death. And sometimes it was like she was a stranger to him, he didn't know what to say or do because he was fearful that any action could set her off. And although they were starting to make progress, Bill knew it was far from being normal and it may never be like that again.

"They are struggling so hard to keep their heads high and its so incredibly to see. We are all trying to do whatever we can to help but sometimes we just can't reach them. Sometimes they are too far gone." Bill shrugged, thinking of the moments when it became too much. It wasn't often, but it did happen when he had to throw his hands up and step away for a while. But he never gave up. He loved Sookie and Godric loved Eric and because of that love, they would never give up on trying to help their loved ones through this. He looked at the grave and sighed. "It's tough, but I promise you we won't give up on them. We will get them through this."

He got to his feet, feeling like he had said all he needed to say and was preparing to dart through the trees and back to the house. But before he could even take one step away, he brought his fingers to his lips and kissed them before pressing his hand to the top pf the tombstone in farewell.

"Goodbye Allison. I hope you have found peace."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Bill? Where were you?" Sookie asked upon hearing the front door open and she walked back from the kitchen and into the front hallway to find him standing there as nonchalantly as could be. She felt her mouth drop open slightly as her hands went to her hips in annoyance. "I got home from running errands and you weren't here obviously. And you're always here."

"I'm sorry my darling little wife. Did I worry you?" He asked with a slight smirk as if this was amusing to him. He shrugged his arms out of his leather jacket and hung it up on a hook by the door before he turned to look at her seriously. "Ok, I won't joke with you since you honestly were worried."

"It's not that I was worried, but when I left the house it was late afternoon and I knew I would come back just as the sun had set so I would see you as soon as you woke up. But then I come home and not only is the rest of the house empty, but so was your resting place. And I'm use to you always being here when I get back. So it was just weird." She explained, walking over and wrapping her arms around his midsection, holding him close to her as he did the same. "Where did you go?"

"That's not really important." He replied quietly, his lips brushing against her forehead while his grip tightened. "I'm home now, that's what matters."

"But I want to know where you were." She insisted, pulling back from him so she could look in his eyes. There was a guarded expression on his face that caught her attention first and made her even more curious. "Why won't you tell me? Is it something bad?"

"It depends on your definition of bad." He stated, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the living room. She sat down quickly, eager to know what it was that he was keeping from her. And when he sitting next to her with his arm on the back of the couch, he spoke again. "I went to Allie's grave."

"Well that's a relief. With the look on your face I was expecting something horrible." Sookie said, sinking back into the cushions while being flooded with relief that nothing was wrong and she looked at her husband curiously. "I don't know why you made that sound like such a big deal. I also went to Allie's grave today before I went to run errands so its no problem if that's where you were."

"I just wasn't sure how you would react to it." Bill ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "Any mention of Allie could be a trigger and telling you that I was at her final resting place could set you off and I didn't want to do that."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that because I actually find it helpful to sit there sometimes and talk as if she were still there." Sookie told him, smiling in thought at the one thing that seemed to soothe her broken soul. Even though it greatly disturbed her to know that Allie was lying in a state of decomposition 6 feet below ground, the fact that she was always going to be there and Sookie could come here whenever she wanted outweighed the creepy factor. "So what did you end up saying to her?"

"Just that we all missed her and that its been the toughest on you and Eric since you guys were closest to her." Bill confessed, his eyes and face holding the same detached look as he talked. "Basically just that she was loved by everyone and her life meant something to all of us and its not the same without her."

"That's really sweet." Sookie reached out for his hand and curled her fingers around his. She was touched that he would go to Allie's grave and talk to her like she was still there and about what life was like without her. It was evident by Bill's admission that he too was dealing with a pain that he very rarely talked about because he was so focused on her and that made her feel bad. Bad enough that she removed her hand from his and placed it on his face. "Bill I am so sorry."

"For what?" He asked, a frown wrinkling his forehead as he touched her wrist. "You didn't do anything."

"Actually I did. I never once asked you how you were dealing with all this. You've always been so focused on me that you never get a chance to deal with your own grief and I know you are feeling just as much pain as I am." Sookie shook her head, ashamed that she had never put him first while he did it every time for her. "I'm sorry that I never took in to account how much you must miss her like the rest of us."

"No need for apologies, I never doubted that you cared about my feelings. So don't put any undue pressure on yourself." Bill ordered her, bring his arms back around her body and pulling her into his lap before their eyes met. "Allie meant something to all of us and we all know it. We are in this together and we have to lean on each other now that Allie's not here. And it can be done. I really believe that."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

_"I can't stand the sight of you."_

_"I don't want you around anymore."_

_"I hate you."_

"I'm an idiot. A complete and utter idiot." Eric grumbled out loud to the dancing fire in front of him and he had to resist the urge to throw something into the fireplace because he was so angry with himself. "How could I have said that to Godric?"

It was the same thing he had been thinking all night since he had watched his maker walk out the door after listening to the cruelest words ever leave his mouth. And the look on Godric's face sent a piercing pain through his chest and of course once he had managed to calm down and the anger disappeared, he instantly regretted saying what he had said. He didn't mean it at all, he knew that even at the height of his anger but he had been so overcome by frustration that he had said the one thing that was guaranteed to tear apart their fragile bond. It had barely survived Godric's return and all the drama that came since then, including Allie's death. But Eric now was no longer sure if it could withstand this. If was one thing to say harsh things and try and push each other away and it was an entirely different thing to use the word hate. That was just one of those words that should never be used, especially when it was not meant. So to have it carelessly thrown around the way he had was unforgivable. And if he had succeeded in pushing Godric out of his life and he was truly alone, then it was his own fault and he couldn't blame it on anyone else.

"Eric Northman! You better be fucking home right now." Godric's voice echoed through the house as the front door suddenly opened and closed and here came that angry little vampire stomping around the corner like a man on a mission. Eric didn't even bother getting up to meet him at the door since it was obvious his maker was going to be the one showing up first to start whatever confrontation he had in mind. Godric walked through the doorway of the living room and came to a stop with his arms crossed tightly and his dark eyes glaring. "I have something to say to you."

"I need to apologize for what I said to you." Eric began to say, ignoring his maker's waving arms the shake of his head. "No I have to say this. I didn't mean it...You know I don't hate you."

"I don't wish to rehash your horrid words Eric, there will be another time to discuss it but not now." Godric cut back in, walking forward with his face never changing a bit and it was then that Eric began to imagine the worse. "Right now I want to talk about why I suddenly came back. I thought about everything we have talked about since you decided what you're going to do and I just have one more thing to say to you before this night ends..."

Eric cringed, knowing that he was about to be delivered some kind of crashing blow that he so rightfully deserved. He had been horrible to his maker and like Godric had said, everyone had a breaking point and he might have just shoved him towards there. This was going to be it. Godric was going to release him and then disappear into the world and leave him alone to deal with this. He knew it was going to end up like that and when Godric opened his mouth again, Eric closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see his maker's face when he said it.

"No matter what you say or how hard you try to push me away, I'm not leaving. You can say you hate me a million times over, but it will never make me want to abandon you. You are my child and I'm not going anywhere." Godric said, shocking Eric beyond belief with his words that he opened his eyes to find his maker standing directly in front of him with a surprisingly gentle smile on his face. "And if you insist on going after the rest of the witches then you're not doing it alone...I'm going with you."

If there was one thing he wasn't expecting to hear, it was that. He gazed into his maker's face, waiting for the moment for it to change and let him now it was all a joke but it never happened. Godric just nodded determinedly, showing that he was indeed going to be going with Eric on this mission and that their bond as not as fragile as he thought. Godric wasn't going anywhere no matter what he said and if there was anything that could touch Eric in a human way, it was this. And it left him almost speechless except for two little words.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

_Knock...knock..._

"Who in the world would be at our front porch this late at night?" Bill asked her with a frown as they both looked from their spot on the couch to the door where they could hear movement of a singular person outside the house. Bill got to his feet cautiously and motioned for her to stay behind. "I will get it, you stay here in case its something bad."

"I don't think so." Sookie shook her head, standing up and took her husband's hand as he went to leave the room. "I'm going with you, you might need my protection."

Bill sent a frown over his shoulder as they walked together to the door. Although she put on a brave front, Sookie couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive. It was midnight and most of their neighbors were asleep, so if there was someone at the the door then it couldn't have been for a good reason. No person in their right mind would show up unless they were on a mission or something was wrong. So she grabbed on to his arm as he reached for the door and pulled it open. But what they found standing in front of them was not what they envisioned something bad looking like.

"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you but I knew there was a vampire living in this house so I knew I had the right place." The woman said before they could say anything. She was an older woman, with short dark hair that stopped at her shoulders and bright green eyes and a kind face. Although Sookie couldn't read her mind, she didn't get the sense that this woman was here for trouble. It was just a vibe thing. "Um, are you Sookie Stackhouse?"

"Compton is my new last name, this is my husband Bill." Sookie replied, trying to suppress a frown at the fact that this woman somehow knew of her, while she motioned to her husband. "How can I help you?"

"Actually it is me that can help you." The woman pointed out, her face suddenly turning nervous like she was about to say something that would change everything forever. And in Sookie's knowledge of the world, when someone showed up at your door looking and sounding like this, it never meant good things. So she was all set to step back into the house and close the door on this woman, but she never got the chance because the woman reached out and took her hand and said the one sentence she never was expecting to say.

"My name is Molly...I'm Allison's birth mother."


	7. It all comes down to this

**Chapter 7 It all comes down to this**

"Um...are you both ok?"

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Sookie somehow managed to open her mouth and say to this strange woman who was standing there as calm as could be while Sookie was mildly freaking out on the inside. Bill had not said a word and in fact had taken a step back as if allowing her to deal with this personal matter. She looked at this stranger named Molly, hardly daring to believe what had just been said. "Did you say you were Allie's birth mother?"

"Yes I did." Molly nodded in agreement, a tense smile on her face as they stared at each other in disbelief. "I'm sorry for springing this on you out of nowhere. I know it must be a shock for you."

"You're damn right it is a shock." Sookie said, her heart thudding wildly in her chest as she let go of the door frame and tucked her hands under her arms. "I mean, we only found out that Allie was adopted a year ago and not once in her entire life did you ever show up. And now suddenly you are standing on my front porch. Why is that?"

"I just thought it was time to meet you all." Molly replied, her lips pressing together and her hands twirled her hair around her fingers, an action that reminded Sookie of Allie. It was weird and shocking, but even Sookie couldn't deny that the two looked alike. And Molly had the same kind of air about her as Allie did, that kind and generous vibe that drew people to them. "I know I shouldn't have just popped up, especially when you have such a heavy burden to deal with..."

"So you know what happened?" Sookie asked quickly, seeing the flash of sadness go through the woman's eyes. "You know we're mourning her?"

"Yes, I heard about the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her death and its truly heartbreaking. Even for me, even though I haven't been in her life at all." Molly nodded, the sadness never leaving her face as she shifted from side to side on the old wooden porch. "But there is a reason I came here tonight and its to let you know something..."

"Look, I'm really sorry, I don't mean to be rude but I need you to leave right now." Sookie cut in, feeling her chest get tight and her eyes start to rim with wetness. She didn't exactly know why she was suddenly getting emotional, but having the woman who gave birth to Allie standing right there in front of her was more then she could take right now. There were too many bad things that had happened in such a short period of time and she couldn't deal with another shocker like this. "We are trying to deal with her death and having you show up out of nowhere is just making things worse then ever."

"I don't mean to cause trouble or more pain then you already have, but I needed to come here and meet you." Molly said gently, looking at her with sympathetic eyes. "There are just things you really need to know."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to know about it. It's like I said, we're mourning her and that's tough enough. So please don't lay more things on us, not right now." Sookie wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and looked over her shoulder at Bill who came up to her side and wrapped one of his arms around her waist while she looked at Molly one more time. "Please just leave. This not something I am prepared to deal with at the moment."

"I understand. And I won't bother you again." Molly stepped back on the porch just as Sookie moved back into the door frame. But before Molly walked away, she turned back and said "Just know that I loved my daughter and I did what I thought was right."

And then she was gone as Sookie stepped completely back into the house and shut the door before flipping the lock securely. She stayed there with her hands flat against the wood trying to collect herself. It was only when Bill pulled her back and turned her in his direction did she look up and meet his eyes for the first time.

"That was.."

"Yea..."

"I mean, she just shows up and I don't even..."

"I know, it was a shocker."

"I'm sorry but I couldn't deal with this. Not now." Sookie shook her head and moved forward so Bill could envelope her in his arms where she felt the most calm in this chaotic world. "It's too much in the face of what just happened with Allie."

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I get where you're coming from." Bill set his chin on top of her head, his arms tight around her body. "But I get the feeling that this is not the last we will see of Molly. Birth mothers don't suddenly show up after 23 years without a specific reason."

"I hate to agree with you but I do...something is off about this whole thing."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"Oh boy. Judging by the look on your face, I take it things did not go well with Sookie and Bill."

"That is the understatement of the century." Molly groaned as she slid into the chair across the table from Aaron in the back of the diner and proceeded to drop her forehead repeatedly on the tabletop until she began to feel an ache set in and then she stopped. She sat back and clasped her hands in front of her, seeing her friend stare at her expectantly and she sighed. "As soon as I said who I was and tried to talk to them, Sookie started crying and she asked me to leave before I could tell her anything important."

"You didn't even get to tell them that you're bringing Allison back?" Aaron asked, his mouth dropping open in obvious shock. "That you're a witch and you're performing a resurrection or anything?"

"Nothing at all and before you say anything, I couldn't just blurt it out just for kicks. Telling a person you are attempting to bring someone back from the dead is not something you just scream at upon meeting them. Especially after I told them I was Allison's birth mother. I think that was enough of a shock to last them a while." Molly told him, rubbing the sides of her head with her fingers as Sookie's face kept flashing in front of her eyes. She didn't blame the blonde for not wanting to hear anything else. After all, they had just lost Allison and were still in the beginning of the grieving stages and Molly hadn't been willing to let herself be known about until now. "And besides, I don't think they want to encounter any more witches so soon after what happened. So that's why I didn't tell them about me."

"So what's your plan then to deal with them?" Aaron questioned, pouring them both a cup of coffee from the pot on the table before pushing a cup over to her. "Because you know you can't just resurrect her and let that be it. They are going to want answers and when Allison shows up one day on their doorstep, they will want to understand how it is possible. And you will have to give then that."

"I know I will and when the time comes then it will happen." Molly assured him, smiling gratefully for the coffee and clasped her hands around the steaming mug. "But right now, my mind has to be completely focused on bringing my daughter back."

"Wow, I still cannot get use to the fact that you had a daughter." Aaron shook his head, his cup clutched in one large hand. "I mean, we have known each other over 20 years and you never once mentioned this."

"That's because it was entirely too painful to think about, let alone talk about. So I tried to pretend like it had never happened and that made it easier to go through life." Molly frowned, thinking of how many years had gone by where she had somehow managed to forget that she had a daughter. She sometimes wondered how she had done that because once you became a mother, no matter what you did about the baby you still had that connection to your offspring. "I pushed it aside until I couldn't do it any more and now here we are."

"So...how did this all happen?" Aaron wanted to know, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Tell me everything about where it all began. Because you have left me in the dark about a lot of things."

"I was in college when I got pregnant. I was only 19 and I was so not capable of taking care of even myself, let alone a child. So I knew adoption would have to be the outcome if I wanted to keep my life going. And even though it killed me, I set my mind to giving up my baby." Molly bit down on her bottom lip as she remembered that moment 24 years ago when she came to the conclusion that she could not keep Allison in her life. It just was not possible and it wasn't right. It would have been selfish to try and hold on to her daughter just because she was scared of letting go. "It was hard to stay true to that decision because when I went to the doctor and heard her heartbeat and say the ultrasounds, I wanted nothing more then to just keep her with me. But I knew I couldn't. If she was going to have a better life, then I had to give her up."

"I'm sorry you had to make that decision. I can't even begin to understand how hard that must have been." Aaron's normally cheerful face had gone serious fast and he was looking at her with a foreign look in his eyes. "So how did you meet the Stackhouses?"

"Oddly enough, I had met them by chance at an old diner like this in Georgia. And we had started talking and I had told them I was pregnant and looking to give my daughter up and that's when they said they wanted to adopt." Molly smiled in memory of that day when she met those kind people out of the blue and they had offered to take care of her baby. It was the biggest favor anyone could ever do for another person. "They had been trying to have a baby of their own but it just wasn't in the cards and were just looking to adopt when we ran into each other. We had exchanged numbers and once the papers were drawn up, I signed over all custody and parental rights to them and the week before my due date, they actually came and stayed in a hotel near my apartment so that when I went into labor, they could be there. And they were, it was a few weeks after I turned 20 when I gave birth and they both stayed with me in the hospital because I had no one else. It was so comforting to know that the better parents for Allison were there. And when they took her away, I knew she was going to be happy with them."

"I'm sure that even if you did keep her, you would have been a great mother even at 20 years old." Aaron assured her, patting her hand gently before asking the unavoidable question. "What about her birth father?"

"I don't want to talk about him." Molly retorted rather quickly, feeling a flash of anger and fear go through her at the mere mention of Allison's father. She hadn't thought about him in years and she preferred to keep it that way or else she would never sleep at night. "We did not have the best relationship and it ended badly when he found out I was pregnant and I haven't had too much contact with him since then and I want to leave it at that. So please don't ask me about him. If I ever do talk about it, it has to be to Allison first."

"Done deal." Aaron instantly knew not to push this subject and that was due to them knowing each other for so long that he enough to let this one go for now. "So I guess that brings us to the present then."

"I guess it does."

"So...when are you going to tell Allison everything?"

"Not for a while, that's for sure." Molly shook her head and combed her fingers through her short brown hair and picked up her coffee cup again. "Once Allison is resurrected, I think its best to stay hidden for a while at least until things have calmed down. I mean, she will have enough to readjust to when she comes back to life and I don't want to burden her with all this just yet. But once a little time has passed and she has had a moment to start getting her life back together, then I will go back and tell them all it was me who brought resurrected her. But until then, I just need to stay away."

"I guess that makes sense." Aaron nodded, pressing his lips together into a tight line. "But since you brought it up I just thought I would ask. When are you completing the last part of the resurrection?"

"Tonight...I'm doing it tonight."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely and completely."

"I'm not joking here Eric?"

"Who said anything about joking? I was just answering your question and you take it as me making a joke."

"You'll have to forgive me for this but I have history on my side that says you very rarely get serious about anything. Now tell me the truth."

"That is the truth...I don't have a plan about the witches."

"Oh Eric." Godric found himself groaning, dropping his face into his hands because he could no longer look at his progeny. He was still taken about by the lack of formation in Eric's decision to go after the rest of the coven especially after his child had spoken so determinedly about it. He had thought Eric would put more consideration into how exactly they were going to pull this off. And now to his surprise, there was no plan and no structure at all. He looked up to see Eric staring at him from the other end of the couch and rolled his eyes. "How could you not think to come up with a plan?"

"I don't see what there really needs to be done except find them and kill every last one of them." Eric said like it was the easiest thing in the world to do and that there wouldn't be anything that would go wrong. "So whats the problem?"

"The problem is you are going after a handful of witches we have already been to war with and you are expecting to go into a fight blindly with no plan. Do you know how many things could go wrong if you do that?" Godric asked him, sitting with his hands in his lap and fighting the urge to say that Eric was acting foolishly, again. But he held back. "I finally came around to agreeing with your idea and I'm even joining you on this mission because I too want them to pay for what they have done. But we have to be smart about this."

"Well, you're my elder so you tell me what to do since you have all the answers." Eric threw his hands up in the air and stretched his arm alogn the back of the couch while looking at Godric expectantly. "Speak."

"First off, I do not always have all the answers but I'm glad you have enough respect for me to think that." Godric smirked, a lightheartedness hanging in the air right then. "But in this instance, I did think it was important to do some kind of research so we have some kind of direction. So I called Isabel."

"You did? For what?" Eric questioned curiously.

"I wanted to know if the remaining witches had returned to Dallas or not." He explained to his progeny, thinking of that hour long conversation he had with his long time friend. They hadn't just talked about the witches, they had talked what happened in the graveyard, Allison's death and how they were all coping with it. Isabel had offered her sincere condolences to them for their lost, proving that there was the occasional vampire who still held on to their humanity. "We can't just say we are going to slaughter the rest of them without knowing where the hell they are. They could be anywhere and if we don't have a clue where to find they then we could be searching for years."

"Well then what did she say? Did they go back to Dallas?"

"She hasn't gotten word from the spy she had set up in their midst but she promised to look further into it and then get back to us soon. She knows how important this is to us and she's doing what she can." Godric told him, running his fingers over his knee so he had something to do. "But until then we just have to wait."

"That's fine with me, but I will tell you one thing though..." Eric sat up straight, becoming taller then Godric even with them both sitting down. He had a dark look cross over his pale face briefly as their eyes locked. "Once we know where the rest of them are, we are going right after them and showing no mercy."

"Normally I would shy away from this for a second time, but I just so happen to agree with you." Godric nodded, his own face reflecting the determination in his still heart. He wasn't normally in favor of violence, but much like with the first battle, he was willing to forget about his calm ways and jump feet first into this fight. He had lost a very close friend and just like Eric, he wanted to avenge her. And that meant killing every last one of them. He looked at Eric and nodded. "No mercy."

* * *

><p><em><span>The end of the night<span>_

"This is it...the time has come to bring this body back to life."

"Stop whispering like that...it's really freaking me out." Aaron made a point of saying under his breath like he didn't think she would hear him but of course she did. And when their eyes met from her spot on the ground, he visibly cringed as if scared of her wrath. "Uh..."

"You are so lucky I am done with the incantation or else I would blast your ass from here to Kingdom come." Molly threatened but she wasn't serious since all her attention was on the grave site in front of her. Her hands remained over the grass where she had directed the white light from her fingers into the earth where it was forcing down the droplets of blood she had poured on the grass. "You're a witch too and yet you are freaking out like a child."

"That's because I have never attempted uncharted magic before like you are doing. Who knows what could happen as you try and finish this." Aaron said back defensively, standing a few feet away from the grave as if he were worried something was going to jump out at him if he got too close. "Not to mention I haven't seen you use your Fae powers in forever."

"It's essential to use them now in this spell." Molly told him, watching as the light embedded itself in the grass and pushed it's way into the dirt towards the coffin lying 6 feet below. "She needs not only my blood but the use of my powers in order for it to work."

"Why is that?" Aaron wondered, eying the grave curiously.

"She needs the blood for obvious reasons, blood sustains life and with her being my daughter, my blood ran through her veins up until her death. So she needs the blood she was originally born with in order to be reborn again."

"And the powers?"

"The spell requires me to give two personal parts of myself to resurrect her, its the sacrifice part and both parts have to be something that she also had. And besides the blood, we also shared Fae powers, even though she is full blooded and I'm only half."

"So wait...the father was a half Faerie too?" Aaron started snickering at this statement so much that Molly too found her body shaking with laughter. "Oh there is so much wrong with that sentence."

"Oh yea, I know." Molly giggled as she rolled her eyes just as the light died from her hands and she stood up with a satisfied smile on her face. "Alright, it's done. It's finally completed."

"Wait, are you for real?" Aaron's body instantly snapped to life for the first time since they got here and he actually came over to her side and motioned down to the ground. "You're done?"

"Yes I am, the last part finished just now. The blood exchange, the incantation and the white light was the final stage. It's over now." Molly nodded, feeling a lightness spreading through her body, knowing that she had pulled this off and her daughter was going to be coming back in the very near future. "We can go now."

"Is that seriously it?" Aaron seemed unable to accept that this process had ended without some big bad ending and had instead just went quietly away. "Do we wait here for a sign? Do we start digging her out? What do we do?"

"We don't do anything. Our part is done and now we let nature take over." Molly explained, chucking at her life long friend's bewildered expression. "Didn't you re-read the spell book like I told you too so you would know what is going on?"

"And don't you remember that I never listen to you when you get bossy?" He shot back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So tell me now. Is she going to be waking up any time soon?"

"The actual duties may be over, but according to the spell book, the resurrection won't be complete until the next rain storm hits." Molly replied, her hand clutching the old book in her right hand that she proceeded to wave in his face. "If you had read it like I told you then you would know that. It says at the very end that it only works once the earth has been cleansed by the waters of the heavens. So she won't be brought back until then."

"You're saying that once it rains, then she'll be resurrected?" Aaron eyed her like she was out of her mind before he shrugged and threw his hands in the air. "That's really weird, but whatever works for you is ok I guess."

"You are such a trip." Molly teased him, pushing at his shoulder and moving him towards the path that would lead them back out through the old iron gate. But before she left with Aaron, she turned back to look at the grave, seeing nothing out of place and sighed. It was hard to know that she had finished her part in all this and now she would have to wait for nature to take it's course. Now it was out of her her hands and what ever happened would happen. She raised her hands at the tombstone and whispered "Awake soon my daughter and come back to this world."


	8. Wake me up

**Chapter 8 Wake me up**

_A few night later_

"This is so depressing." Eric found himself groaning very audibly out loud as he leaned his head against the window and stared out into the dark night while the water pounded on the other side of the glass with no sign of letting up. He groaned again, this time more loudly then the other to the point that his maker looked up from the book he had been reading and over at him. Eric simply shrugged and asked "What?"

"Eric, its just a bad thunder storm. Get over it."Godric replied back, his eyes rolling for the millionth time that night any time Eric complained about the rain that had been coming down all day according the weather forecast. "Stop focusing on what's going on outside and just amuse yourself in some way."

"There's nothing to do and the one thing I want to do I can't act on because my targets are hiding out somewhere." Eric growled, turning away from the window and looking at his maker on the couch on the other side of the room. "It's been like 3 days since you spoke to Isabel. When is she going to know whether the witches have returned to Dallas or not?"

"She's the sheriff of my old area, her duties are numerous as you know. You have the same position as she does, so you of all people should understand." Godric pointed out, shutting the book and clasping his hands on top of it. "Besides, its not an immediate threat so she can't put it ahead of everything else she has going on."

"But it's important to me. And it wasn't that long ago when it was threat." Eric reminded him of those dreaded last few months when all their lives had been in danger from this coven. So it was was vital that the rest of the group was extinguished as soon as possible. "I've never been mistaken as a patient vampire have I?"

"You certainly have not but I can't rush this. She will get back to us when she can."Godric's face twisted into an almost amused grin as he sat back against the cushions. "You know, I haven't seen you this animated in quite a while. It's a relief to see you acting like your old self."

"I'm fueled by that promise and perhaps its the turning point in my grief but either way I'm glad to be doing something..." Eric was cut off by the sound of his phone buzzing on the nearby table and he and Godric shared the same hopeful look as he got up to grab it. "Hello?"

"Eric, it's Isabel. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you and Godric but things have been crazy out here and I only just got word tonight about the witches." Isabel wasted no time in jumping into the thick of things which Eric greatly appreciated. He had no patience for small talk and would have lost his mind if she had done that. But luckily she was bypassing it and telling him what he wanted to know. "My spy has received word that the remaining witches have not returned here to Dallas and they are not even in Louisiana."

"Then where are they?" Eric demanded, fearing for a second that they had disappeared somewhere that no one knew about and it would take forever to track them down. "You do know where they are don't you?"

"Of course I do, I wouldn't just call to tell you where they weren't at." Isabel laughed lightly, her tone changing for only a second before she said. "My sources have said they are hiding just outside of Louisiana in Mississippi."

"Oh great, so now we have to make a journey. Perfect." Eric rolled his eyes, not thrilled that they had to travel across state lines to find these witches, but at least they knew where they were hiding. "Goodbye."

"Eric, don't do anything too..." Isabel's voice was cut off when he slammed the phone down on the table top, silencing the air as he and Godric stared at each other with the same expression. It was evident that his maker had heard every word because he was looking ready to get up and spring into action.

"Eric?" Godric cautiously said, tossing aside the book and got to his feet so they were both standing. "What happens now?"

"Now...we get out of here." Eric answered back, looking over his shoulder at the rain splattered window that had just minutes ago depressed him and now he was about to head out into the middle of this storm with his maker to fulfill the promise he had made to Allison almost 2 months ago. He had spent so long thinking about it and now it was time to actually put it into action and he couldn't be more ecstatic. He looked back at Godric and smirked. "It's time we hunt these bitches down once and for all."

* * *

><p><em><span>At Fangtasia<span>_

_"Can you believe we're getting kicked out at 9:30? When has that ever happened?"_

_"I don't think it ever has in the history of its existence. Not even when the hot piece of ass owner wasn't showing up did it ever close this early. I wonder what's going on."_

_"Well that one who mans the door won't give any answers...i think its best we just go without resistance...She's looking hungry."_

_"I don't get it...what's going on?"_

"This is such bullshit." Pam groaned as she watched the last of the customers leave through the front door of Fangtasia before she rushed over and flipped the lock to keep out any more potential visitors. She leaned back against it and looked around at the empty room that was now empty for the first time ever at this hour and all due to Eric's bidding. Pam shook her head and pushed off from the door and headed to the bar counter. "My maker has lost his damn mind."

Pam knew something was wrong the moment she had woken up tonight and found that pathetic mess Ginger waiting at the top of the staircase with a message for her from Eric. Apparently, he was ordering her to close down the bar at 9:30 without giving a reason why and Ginger had no other clue to what he meant by this. Of course Pam had immediately tried to call Eric and Godric, but neither were answering the phone and she had no choice but to follow through with her maker's order. The customers were none to happy about having to wait in line for hours only to be kicked back out just when the night was really beginning. And she had had to listen to every single one of them whisper to each other about how much this sucked. And normally she was amused by these stupid humans but tonight was not a night where she would be smirking and eying them with interest. She knew something was up because she could feel through her connection with Eric that he was up to something and hadn't told her about it yet. And that was enough to make her glad she didn't have to run Fangtasia for the night.

_Ring...ring...ring_

"You better have a good reason for forcing me to close down the bar tonight without explaining why I was doing it." Pam snapped into the phone as she soon as she pulled it out of her pocket. She barely had to glance at the screen before she answered it, knowing there was a very good chance it was Eric and sure enough it was. "What in the hell are you on?"

"Just the sweet taste of knowing I finally get to do something to satisfy myself." Eric replied, sounding unlike his self lately which was of a concern to Pam which did not happen all that often. "I'm just letting you know that Godric and I are heading out of town. Actually, we're heading out of Louisiana to Mississippi..."

"Mississippi? What the fuck is in Mississippi?" Pam demanded, taken aback in the worse sense when those words slipped from her maker's mouth. It was bad enough that he had just taken off and hadn't given her a clue as to why or where. But to be going completely out of the state was serious and it meant that something was up big time. "Eric, what the hell are you doing?"

"What I should have done weeks ago..." He stated in complete seriousness. "I'm searching out the rest of the Dallas coven and killing them all with my bare hands."

"And Godric is on board with this?" Pam was having a hard time believing the mild tempered Godric would approve of such an idea when he usually spent much of his time trying to pull Eric away from violence. And now he was not only allowing Eric to do it, but he was going with him to face it head on. "I find that hard to believe."

"It took some time but I managed to convince him to come around and now we are going to find those witches.."

"You're crazy and out of your mind and you totally should have brought me along." Pam shot back, feeling grumpy that she had been left out of the loop. "I could have kicked some ass too. And you need someone with a good fashion sense with you. You and Godric are definitely not it."

"I think that's the least of our problems." He sounded amused as he always did when she confronted him about something. "But I was just calling to let you know what was going on and that I want you to stay at my home until we get back. It's not safe for you to remain at Fangtasia without me or Godric in the area."

"Whatever you say boss." Pam rolled her eyes, glad he wasn't there to see her expression.

"And one more thing..." Eric caught her attention just as she was about to hang up the phone but his voice made her listen in again. "Do not speak of our absence to anyone. No one needs to know what we're doing. Got it?"

"Yea yea, whatever." Pam waved her hand in the air as she eyed the many bottles of true blood on the shelves behind the bar. "Just answer me this. Why are you guys doing this alone?"

"Because we have to...it's just something that I need to do and I only want my maker with me when I do it...That's just how it is."

* * *

><p><em><span>Bon Temps cemetery<span>_

The storm had gotten worse once night had fallen. It had been raining steady on and off all day but now that the light had gone from the sky, the sheets of water had begun to come down harder and the wind picked up even more wildly then it had before. The trees were swaying all over the places, some even losing branches in the storm. The pitch black sky lit up as lightening streaked across it, providing the only light for miles around. The loudness of the thunder echoed across town, sometimes rumbling the ground so bad that it was felt in the foundations of the houses. Leaves and debris were flying all over the place, scattering across the roads in clumps before being caught in puddles the size of small ponds in ditches in the grass. The yards were beginning to flood, only so much water being able to be soaked into the ground before it had to just sit there. The earth was drenched and heavy with the dirt turning to mud and encasing the grounds under this unrelenting storm.

It was during all this that my eyes snapped open in the darkness and with a gasp, I took my first breath in my newly resurrected body.

I knew what had happened immediately, it all came flooding back. The battle in the graveyard. The witches dying all over the place. Anna stabbing me in the back with that dagger. Having to watch my friends and loved ones as the life slowly slipped away from me. I remembered it all. I knew I had been dying and that moment when I closed my eyes and saw nothing but darkness, I knew it was over. And I didn't remember anything else. I was dead, there wasn't anything else to remember. Only I wasn't dead anymore. I knew that because it felt exactly the way it did after waking up from a too long nap, I felt sluggish and weak and tired. But I was alert, I knew what was going on and I knew I was alive. I didn't know how but I was. Somehow I had been resurrected and it had to have been for a reason or else I would still be blissfully in my own perfect world. But I wasn't, I was back in my old world, inside a dark box with heavy hot air that felt suffocating the longer I laid there. I was still in my coffin, 6 feet under the ground where no one would know I was now alive again.

And that instantly sent me into shock mode.

"No, let me out." I started screaming, weakly bringing my arms up above me and feeling my hands brush against the lid less then 20 inches from my face. This was no nightmare, it was for real. I really had been resurrected and was left in the very place I had been last laid to rest at, my own grave. My tiny hands turned into fists in the dark and I couldn't even see them as my heart began beating frantically before taking off into a full blown sprint as I began pounding on the wooden lid. "Somebody let me out. Please God let someone know I'm here."

I don't know how long I pounded on the lid because it became such a familiar motion that I blacked out after a while as I continued hitting it. Subconsciously I knew my hands wouldn't break me out of it but it didn't stop me from trying because my first instincts told me to hit at the very thing that was keeping me trapped. So I slammed my fists against the wood, my heart going what felt like a million miles a second as I fought like hell to try and get myself out, but it wasn't until I felt a wetness starting to drip onto my face that I stopped. I knew my hands were bleeding, I could smell the blood as well as feel it and that in turn made the pain come to the surface in a throbbing and raw way. I didn't know if I had broken my hands in my frantic attempt to escape but that wasn't my focus at the moment. I was panicking at knowing I was stuck here with no way of getting out. I had been resurrected and then left here to fend for myself. This had to be a form of torture from those witches, because no one would resurrect someone and then leave them down in their coffin. This had to be the work of someone evil because there was nothing I could do to get out. I was going to have to lay here and slowly die, knowing that my second lease on life was being wasted. I had no means of escape.

Except for one.

It came to me so suddenly and so obviously that I couldn't believe I hadn't thought to do it before I started trying to break the lid with my hands. My powers, if I was truly alive then my Fae powers would still be with me and they would be strong enough to break the coffin open. Despite the pain radiating through my hands, I uncurled my fingers and had to grit my teeth as tears started running down the sides of my face from how much it hurt. But not enough to the point that I would stop. I placed my hands flat against the inside of the lid and willed the light to erupt from my fingertips. It took a while, I was very weak and it was hard for me to concentrate but my desire to get out over took my exhaustion and I saw the beginnings of the white light start to seep out from underneath my hands. I kept my palms plastered against the wood and before I could even begin to blink, the beam went right through the lid and I heard the splintering. I only had a second before my hands were able to grasp a piece of wood and yank it away, creating a decent size hole that dirt immediately started to fall through.

I choked loudly as a large clump fell on my face and I had moved quickly as more came through the hole. I somehow managed to turn on my side and press my back against the side of the coffin so the dirt would have somewhere to go. It wasn't just dirt, it was mud and it was heavy with water which said a bad storm was raging above me. 6 feet of dirt and mud kept everything around me silent that I could hear the blood pounding in my ears as I pushed the dirt towards the bottom of the coffin. More came in and I had to keep pushing it away before more then half of the space was taken up by dirt and I had to move on. I placed my hands around the edges of the hole and willed the light to return to my fingers again. This time it happened faster and I was able to use it to make the hole wide enough where I could start to dig myself out. I was able to contort my body into a position where my feet were under me and there was enough dirt already missing that I was basically in a crouch. With my hands above my head, I began squirming, knowing that if I did it enough I could loosen it where I could twist my body through the opening and out of the coffin. And that was exactly what I did, I somehow kicked off the flats and was able to lift my shaky body so I could start pushing myself through the dirt.

I didn't know what I was thinking. The moment I pushed my body upwards and into the dirt, I became stuck in a darkness that was worse then being in the coffin. I couldn't hear anything except my own heart and the dirt was so heavy that it felt like it was pressing in on me. I felt my blood beginning to rush fast through my veins as I wiggled in my dirt prison, moving around so I wasn't so confined. My hands sent another blast of light through the dirt above my head, giving me some room where I could start digging myself out. And it was harder then I expected, being as that I had to drag the dirt from above and move it downward on my ascent to the surface. There wasn't much of a place to move it so it was a struggle, a painstakingly slow struggle as each time I pulled myself upwards I had to start digging again and pushing the dirt down towards my feet. I was getting closer, I could tell because I could begin to hear the sounds of pounding rain and screaming winds. I felt my heart nearly leap into my throat at that moment and it made me start moving faster despite the fatigue in my limbs. It took longer then I would have liked, but eventually I felt my fingers break through the surface of the ground and for the first time since I was resurrected, they met no resistance. I was feeling air and grass and rain. I was nearly out. I brought my hand back in to move more dirt out of the way before both arms went above my head and came out onto the ground and I started using my toes in the dirt to push me up and out. My head and arms came out and I was hit in the face by a sheet of rain but I couldn't even think about that as I struggled to grab on to any piece of ground my hands would grasp so I could pull myself out. And then finally with every ounce of strength remaining in me, I climbed out of the ground and fell on my back in the open air of what was the Bon Temps cemetery right next to my tombstone as the rain splattered against my face, washing away the tears, blood and dirt as I breathed the night air for the first time since I had died.

"Oh thank you God. Thank you, thank you, thank you." I managed to say even though I was being pelted in the face by water. But I didn't care. I had just dug myself out of my own grave and even though my body was shaking with exhaustion and the rain was cold and I could see my breath in front of my face, I was filled with a brief sense of complete bliss.

But it didn't last long as I remembered what I had just endured in having to escape my coffin and it made me shake even worse then before. I rolled over on my side and grabbed the side of the tombstone so I could use it to help get me up into a standing position. Once I was on my feet, I took a second to look around, finding the area almost unchanged since my death and realized that I had no idea how much time had passed since my death but it had to have been a while since my grave was covered in grass. It made me shiver violently to be in this spot, so much so that I had to stumble away. I did not want to be near the place where I had been laid to rest. It shook me up too badly and I just wanted to be away from here and at home.

Home, where I would find safety and comfort in the arms of my loved ones.

"Eric." I whispered out loud to the night air, my weak voice being whisked away by the wind and rain as I looked towards the exit. I would have to start moving. It may be storming out but someone could walk by and see me and I was not in a state to be answering questions. My body was tired and was barely cooperating as it is, I would be lucky if I managed to find shelter before my legs gave out on me. I had to get out of here, I didn't want to be in this graveyard or even in this town. I wanted to be in the place I considered home up until my death. So I willed my bare feet to start moving through the mud and soon enough they started carrying me to the exit. I couldn't even feel happy or thrilled that I was alive, I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep for a thousand years and even then I don't think it would be enough. But my path had been set and I just had to get there.

I was heading back to Shreveport.

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Oh dear God. You are a real lunatic Eric Northman." Pam shook her head as she looked around the kitchen she had just finished putting back together and remembered what it had looked like when she had walked in and to say she had been taken aback would have been an understatement. It had been an absolute wreckage and that was even being generous. Eric must have had one of his infamous freak outs and when that happened, no furniture was safe from his wrath so everything and anything was trashed and destroyed beyond use. She had come here after closing Fangtasia per her maker's request and being easily bored, she decided to walk through the house to find something interesting to do and she found that when she walked right here into the kitchen. And here being the vampire that she was, couldn't stand this kind of mess and if she was going to be here for God only knows how long, then she might as well do something worth while. Nothing was salvageable but that was no loss since Eric was the only person living in this house and he didn't need things like toasters or ovens or anything like that. So most of it she threw in a pile to be thrown out later and she was just thinking of doing that too when she heard the distinct sound of the front door opening and then closing and it made her stand up with a bright smile on her face as she shot out of the room. "Eric, I knew you would change your mind about bringing me with..."

But what she found waiting for her at the front of the house was something that humans would have called a hallucination because there was no fucking way it could be real. It wasn't possible that the small, wet and muddy girl standing there barefoot, dripping dirt and water all over the place could be Allison. It just couldn't. Allison was dead. She was buried in the cemetery back in Bon Temps and they had all been mourning her for almost 2 months. This figure had to have been a fake because there was no way in hell that the real Allison Stackhouse was standing before her. Pam wasn't willing to believe this because she had seen with her own eyes Allison lying in that coffin before being lowered into the ground. It wasn't real, things like this did not happen. It had to have been a trick, an illusion, a doppelganger or something. Someone was trying to strike at them again in the cruelest possible way and no matter what happened right now, Pam was glad Eric wasn't here to see this. It would destroy him and get his hopes up that this was for real. And when it was made apparent that this was a trick, it would kill him because he would have really thought that Allison had come back to him. But it was only Pam who was locking eyes on this figure and she was going to do whatever she had to send it away. Or kill it.

It was when she went to take a step forward that she felt her nostrils flare out as her nose caught a scent of something she hadn't noticed before. And when it reached her, she was nearly knocked over by the power of it. It was blood...lots of it. She snapped her head to look at this imposter, only for it suddenly occur to her that this was no imposter. Because it wasn't just blood she was smelling, it was Fae blood and pure Fae blood at that. And she had only come across one girl who was 100 percent Faerie and that was Allison Stackhouse.

"It can't be possible." She whispered, her face falling apart into shock and for the first time ever in her vampire life, she jumped back in pure shock. The smell of that blood did not deceive her, she knew this was Allison. But how? How was this real? How was this possible? She dared to look up and it took all she had to hold on to her composure. "Allison..."

"I...I...I.." Allison couldn't even speak, barely managing to lift her head so their eyes met. She was clearly out of it and Pam could only imagine what she had gone through to get here tonight. In fact, Pam didn't even want to think about it because it greatly disturbed her and all she could focus on was Allison's weary face as she weakly said. "Help me Pam."

Her legs gave out just as she finished speaking, sending her to the floor but Pam flashed forward and caught her tiny form in her arms and held her up. The smell of the blood was even stronger now that they were touching and this was when she saw that the girl's hands were the parts that were bleeding and bleeding heavily. If there was any doubt still lingering, it was gone now as she held what was now the newly resurrected Allison in her arms who felt all too real as she began to shake uncontrollably. Not knowing what to think or do, Pam just tightened her arms around Allison and said the only thing that came to mind and sounded foreign coming from her but that didn't matter. Because everything had just changed.

"It's ok...Everything will be alright."

* * *

><p><em>Outside<em>

"Oh this will be fun. Crossing from one red neck state to another. I am practically giddy with excitement."

"Eric, once again I feel the need to tell you how extremely annoying you are tonight." Godric said with a smirk as he stood with his child on top of an old building right at the state line into Mississippi and shook his head, the droplets of water flying into the still air that was momentarily void of any rain. He and Eric had taken to the skies despite the rain, in their quest to get out of Louisiana and hunt down the witches. Even when they could move fast and fly, it still took them a while to reach the cross over point and they had come here to this building to gather them selves for what they were about to do. He stuck his hands under his arms and arched his eyebrows at the taller vampire. "Is it that difficult for you to maintain some kind of state of mind for more then just a few hours?"

"Have you not met me before now?" Eric shot back with an equally as wide smirk as he stood near the edge of the building they had landed on as his eyes scanned the horizon. "You know I can't stay on one thing for long."

"Only when it involves revenge and violence and then everything is just perfect." Godric pointed out with a knowing smile as he joined Eric on the edge. "You've been on this whole avenge Allison's death mission for weeks..."

"You know how important it is for me to do this." Eric said defensively, his body turning in a flash and his eyes growing dark and angry as they stared downward. "You're not backing out are you? And you're not going to try and convince me not to do this?"

"I told you I wasn't and I hold true to my word." Godric assured him, sending him a look that he hoped would convey how much he was in this with his child. "Eric, I'm all in if you are."

"You better be." Eric replied with a scoff just as Godric felt his phone buzz in his pocket and with a flash he pulled it out and stared at it in such shock that Eric asked "What's wrong? Who is it?"

"It's Pam." Godric answered back, hitting the speaker button and then pressing the talk button before saying. "Pam? What wrong?"

"You need to come home right away." Pam hissed, her voice coming through loud and clear and there was no mistaken the panic and concern that hung heavy in her tone. "Right now you have to get here."

"Are you in trouble?" Eric cut in, stepping closer to Godric and looking down at the phone as if it would somehow show him Pam's face. "I didn't feel anything from you..."

"I'm not in trouble. It's just that..." Pam stumbled over her words, something she did not often do. So when she did it, it was a definite cause for concern as it threw up a red flag that whatever she had to say was not good. Or else she wouldn't be sounding the way she did. But when she spoke again, it was tell them something they were not prepared to hear or even think was possible. "I don't know how it happened or how it was possible but someone resurrected Allison...she's here at Eric's house. You need to come home now."

The line went dead after that as Pam ended the call and left both Godric and Eric to stare at each other in disbelief. The first thing that went through Godric's mind as he stood there with the phone in his hand, was that Pam had to have been mistaken. There was no way that Allison had been resurrected. It wasn't possible in that way. But Pam was no liar. She was strong willed and stubborn and manipulative but when it came to Eric, she never once said anything that was not one hundred percent the truth. So if she said that Allison was alive, then they had to believe it. And a flash of pain went through him as he realized what this would mean. He dared to look at his child at that moment, finding Eric standing stick straight with his hands curled into fists at his side and an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"Eric..." Godric went to move forward but Eric took off into the sky and before another word was spoken, he was off flying in the opposite direction. Back into Louisiana and back to Shreveport. And more importantly, back to Allison. Godric wasted no time in launching himself back into the night air as well, following after his child and wondering how a miracle had come to be.

**a/n: yes it has finally happened, Allison has been resurrected and is back in shreveport...and in the next chapter she is re-united with everyone...sookie, bill, godric and most importantly ERIC! OH it will be a good one..please review**


	9. I'm coming home, wait for me

**Chapter 9 I'm coming home, wait for me**

_I'm back._

_I actually got myself back to Shreveport. And now I'm sitting in my old room surrounded by all my old things. It doesn't even seem real._

_But it is real...it's really real._

I was here. I was actually here in the very place I had called home for those last few months of my life. It was hard to believe that any of this was real but it was. The room was there, looking just the same as it always had been. The bed was soft underneath me as I sat there with my legs tucked under me and a blanket wrapped around my damp body. Nothing was different, nothing was out of place. It was as if I had never left and considering that my resurrection had felt like I had just woken up, it could have all very well been a very horrible dream. But I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn't a dream. The shaking in my body that had nothing to do with being soaked to the skin, was a testament to what I had gone through to get here. So as much as I wished this was all just something cooked up in my head, I was too smart to be able to get myself to believe it.

"Well, I finally got in touch with everybody." Pam came waltzing into the room with her phone in her hand, showing herself for the first time since she left me alone in my old room to make those calls. She sat down on the bed next to me and flipped her hair behind her. "Sookie and Bill took some convincing but they finally believed me and they're on their way."

"That's good." I mumbled quietly, not really knowing what else to say to this. I was just suddenly thrust back into this life and even though it was my old one, I didn't know how to react.

"I also got in touch with Godric and Eric.." She spoke up again and the mention of those two vampires made me almost forget the pain and exhaustion my body was in and I turned to look at her and she just nodded. "They are coming home immediately."

"Thank you for calling them." I replied, my voice sounding weaker and quieter then I had ever heard it sound but I was too out of it to care. "Where were they?"

"Doing what Eric said he should have done the night after you died..." Pam stated with a raise of her eyebrows, not looking at me with her usual smirk or creepy smile. "He wanted to keep his promise to you and he and Godric were going after the other witches to avenge you. But they had just gotten out of state when I called them and now they are coming home."

"I always knew he would do that." I was surprised that Eric had remembered that promise. He had been so sure that nothing would happen to me that I was certain he hadn't taken my request seriously. But hearing that he had gone out to do just that sent a jolt through my heart. And I lifted my head to look around the room even more then I had when I had been alone. "Wow...he didn't change a thing after I died. He kept it just the way I had left it that night...like he expected me to come back. That's so incredibly sad."

"Watching him mourn you was the saddest thing I had ever seen." Pam sounded so unlike herself as she moved closer to me and tilted her head to the side. "It was toughest on him...he was slowly dying on the inside when you were gone. I didn't think he was ever going to get passed this. Even if a thousand years were to go by, I still think he would be mourning you."

"I uh..." My bottom lip started quivering and I didn't realize I had been close to crying until I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I tried to wipe it away but Pam saw it and her face also changed again much like mine must have. I had no idea my life had affected so many people and hearing that Eric had been in mourning for god only knows how long just broke my heart all over again. " I'm sorry I hurt him like that... I'm sorry I hurt all of you."

"Yea well..." Pam started fidgeting uncomfortably, showing she still wasn't use to this show of emotion from anyone and she stood up with her hands on her hips to face me. "You're filthy...we should get you cleaned up before anyone sees you."

I could only just nod in response as Pam came over and scooped me up in her arms and took me into the bathroom where she set me on the edge of the bath tub while she turned on the water. If things could have gotten any more different then they did at just this moment. The old Pam would have been making some kind of snide comment about bathing me herself. But this Pam was not looking at me with hungry eyes. She was just trying to help me like I had asked her and I could allow myself to relax and feel safe. Because I was safe. I was back home and soon enough, I would have my loved ones with me. And then maybe I wouldn't feel quite as empty as I did.

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"You need to stay still or else I can't get these bandages on right." Pam said as she wrapped her cold fingers around my wrist and pulled my arm closer to her before she leveled me with a stare. "I would just heal you myself, but I don't think Eric would appreciate that all too much."

"No...he wouldn't." I shook my head and tried to remain still as she cleaned off my raw and bloody hands with rubbing alcohol before wrapping them with snow white bandages despite my squirming. It hurt worse now that she was trying to make it feel better then it did at the time I hurt them. And it just reminded me of how much I didn't have a high tolerance for pain and it was even more of a reminder of my time down in my coffin and it made me shudder in fear. That was a darkness that I did not ever want to relive. "Thank you for this."

"I can't just let you sit here all bloody and broken, I had to do something." Pam replied, securing the bandages on both hands before she allowed me to take back control of my arms. "How did this happen anyway? Your hands are pretty beat up and that kind of damage only happens from severe trauma."

"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered, looking down at my lap where my hands were settled and allowed my damp hair to fall in front of my face. I felt a tightness in my chest the moment I had stepped foot back into this house and I recognized it. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with being back in the life I had left behind. I could still remember the calm and peaceful world that I had been in when I was dead right before I was thrust back into this world and I longed to be back there again. Back where it was calm and quiet and I knew what to expect. Not here where everything was about to change tremendously once all my loved ones saw me alive again. Things were already different, even with Pam. Never once had she ever been considerate or kind or even nice to me before my death. And now she had tended to my wounds and before she had put me in the bathtub and scrubbed all the dirt and blood from my skin before dressing me again in clean clothing. She even combed the knots out of my damp hair. She was taking care of me and she had never done that for anyone. If that kind of change was already happening, then it made me shake to think of what else was waiting for me when the others showed up. I didn't even want to think about it. I hesitantly looked looked up at Pam who was still sitting next to me on the bed and said. "I just...it's too hard. It's so dark and fresh. I don't want to go back and talk about it. Not right now."

"Ok." That was all Pam said to me as we sat side by side in complete silence for a while, which I think she knew I was preferring for now. My body was still so tired and weak that it surprised me that I was able to make it to Shreveport without passing out on the side of the road. And now that I was safe and back in the place I considered home, I was starting to feel the exhaustion I had pushed away catch up to me and when I yawned rather loudly, Pam looked at me and nodded to the top of the bed by the pillows. "You need sleep, go lay down..."

A crash sounded from downstairs, evident of the front door bursting open and the sound of two very familiar voices calling out to us in a frenzied panic.

"Pam, where are you?" It was Bill, sounding a cross between shock and disbelief.

"Allie!" Sookie was the one who called for me, her voice breathless in excitement and muddled by what was surely chocked back tears. Pam looked at me just as my heart skipped a beat in apprehension and I knew she must have sensed it because she stood up at that moment.

"I will deal with them." She told me before rushing out of the room and shutting the door behind her before I could even blink. All was silent in the room as I listened to her clatter down the stairs to meet with the first wave of my loved ones.

I looked down at my hands wrapped in white bandages and felt an immense wave of exhaustion and fatigue come over me and I crawled toward the head of the bed and pulled the covers back before slipping under them. I curled up, not bothering to take a pillow and just laid there staring at the wall. I couldn't hear what was being said downstairs because the door was shut but I could hear the muffled shouts from both Sookie and Bill. I closed my eyes because I knew it was only going to be a few more seconds before I was bombarded by them and I was trying to brace myself for that moment. Of course I wanted to see them, that wasn't the problem. But I was on such another level that even seeing my loved ones would be overwhelming. But I couldn't deny them the chance to see for themselves that I was indeed alive because I was fairly certain that they weren't entirely convinced of it. Who would?

So I had just started to prepare for this when I heard footsteps running up the staircase and without missing a beat, the door to my bedroom burst open and in came Sookie and Bill, looking just the same as they had that night. Except they were both weighed down with sadness and despair, even as they stood there staring at me. They both blinked a few times as if to ensure that what they were seeing wasn't an illusion or some cruel joke Pam had cooked up. I saw the realization dawn on Bill's face first because when they walked in, my heart pounded wildly inside of my chest and I saw that Pam had heard it, which meant that he had too and it was what convinced him. He took Sookie by the arm and together they both walked over to me slowly, tears already running down both their faces as if this was a sad moment and not a reunion of some one they had seen die.

"Oh dear god." Sookie whispered, her hands reaching out for me when our eyes met but then she retracted them as if she were afraid to touch me. "Pam wasn't lying. You really were resurrected."

"It's a miracle." Bill's face had two trails of blood running down each pale cheek as he stood there at Sookie's side also looking down at me, his hands too frozen in air in shock to do more then just quiver. "How is this possible? What happened?"

"I ...uh, I don't..." I was at a loss for what to say. I couldn't find any words to say to these two people who were my family and yet I was staring up at them silently like they were strangers. It was the oddest thing I ever felt and it made me almost cower in panic that I couldn't come up with anything coherent and that's when Pam stepped in and took hold of the conversation.

"She just showed up here out of the blue covered in dirt and blood and soaked to her skin. She walked here all the way from Bon Temps through the storm and I didn't believe it at first that it was really her. But I smelt her blood and knew it had to be true. There aren't any other full blooded Faeries around here and I just knew." Pam said from her spot over by the door where she had been since she had followed Sookie and Bill into the room. She moved off the frame and came forward with her arms crossed. "She's not herself as you can see."

"Allie...what happened?" Sookie's face was hovering close to mine,her hands extending and retracting as she spoke. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know." I said quietly, dropping my eyes from her as I knew I would have to say something about what went on tonight but I couldn't look at her as I said it or else I would never get it out. "I just woke up and..."

"And what?" Sookie found the courage to reach out and take my hand this time, our first contact since my death and I found a small flame of comfort come from it. "And what?"

"And I ..." My voice quivered to a stop as I looked down at our joined hands, her skin tanned and unblemished like it always was while mine was heavily bandaged and bruised. A lump rose up in my throat just as the first batch of tears started rolling down my face and a sob escaped from my mouth. I looked back at her face and whispered. "I was trapped. I had to get out."

"I don't know what..." The realization of what I was eluding to dawned on her at that very second and she moved back in horror, dropping my hand back on the bed before her hands started shaking in mid air. "You had to dig yourself out of your own grave."

"Yes." I barely said these words before I was overwhelmed by my tears and I hid my face down into the blankets I now had clutched in my hands. I could hear Sookie's feet as they backed her away from me and there was a moment when I could hear the crackle in my head that said our mind would have connected but I closed that off. I wasn't ready to jump back into that world yet. I just wanted to lay here with my face covered while I listened to the chaos erupting around me.

"This...is fucked up." Bill suddenly shouted, his angry voice making me jump to the point where I dropped the blankets and the room came into sight again. I looked over and saw him standing by Pam and was glaring at her like she was the one who was at fault. I had never seen him that angry and it was because he was upset over what had happened to me. And that was evident by what he said next. "Who in the hell resurrects someone and then leaves them in the ground?"

"You need to calm down." Pam shot back, her face the picture of calm as she stared down Bill. "There's no point in getting upset when we don't have anything to go off of. We don't have answers."

"I don't want to calm down." Bill snapped, he flashed forward and drove Pam back first into the wall by the door, rattling the room with a loud thud as he kept on shouting. "She was brought back to life and then left there to find her own way out. I want a fucking answer."

"Stand down Bill or else there is going to be trouble." Pam warned him, pushing back with her hands flat against his chest as her face still remained calm and collected. "We will figure it out but getting worked up on her first night back in not the right thing to do. We need to be united for her and not yelling at each other."

"Fine." Bill reluctantly agreed, his voice saying he still wanted to yell but he didn't and I watched him back away from Pam before he looked over his shoulder at me. For a moment our eyes connected and I saw the torment he had been going through just like they all had before it went away and he turned his head. "I will back off but I'll tell you this. Godric and Eric are not going to be as easy to convince of this as I was. And speaking of which, where are they?"

"On a mission." Pam answered with a smirk, raising her eyebrows like she was deliberately trying to annoy him. "They went off to hunt down the rest of the witches."

"What the fuck?" Bill was mad all over again and I watched as his hands went up in the air in a blur. "Why weren't we informed of this?"

"Because it was none of your business." Pam rolled her eyes, not at all bothered by Bill and she even reached out to grab his arm so she could tug him towards the door. "Come on, we need to have ourselves a little talk."

Sookie stared after them as much as I did while Bill allowed Pam to yank him out of the room and into the hallway before Bill pulled the door shut behind them. Their footsteps went down the staircase very audibly as Sookie turned back around to look at me. Nothing was said between us as our gazes just remained locked together and I realized that I had no words to say to her. Even now after she knew what I had gone through, I still did not know what to say. But Sookie didn't have anything to say either and instead just walked over to the bed and pulled up a chair to sit on by my side as she reached for my hand. I lay there silently with my cheek flat against the bed as my bandaged hand held hers and I found myself staring off into space as her fingers brushed my hair off my face and began to stroke it like she use to do when I was a little girl.

* * *

><p><em><span>Downstairs<span>_

"Bill, calm the fuck down now. You're really starting to annoy me with your little brooding act." Pam said to the pacing vampire flashing back and forth across the hallway while she sat on the bottom step of the stair case and watched him. "It wasn't my place to say anything at the time."

"Not your place?" Bill came to a stop with his hands curled into fists at his sides and his face shot towards her with a glare. "What...did they forbid you from informing the rest of us?"

"That's exactly what Eric did and I have no choice but to listen to him, even if I don't agree with why he was making me do it in the first place." Pam rolled her eyes at Bill, showing that she was somewhat sided with him on this matter. "And I'm only telling you this now because they are coming home any way and it would have come out then."

"They still should have let us know what they were doing. We all fought together the first time and would have done it again to avenge Allison. We all wanted to kill them just as much as Eric did." Bill frowned, shaking his head as he tucked his hands under his arms and stood in the middle of the tiled hallway like he had a great big stick up his ass. "But that's not what is important. The only thing that matters is Allison and what happened to her, which I still find hard to believe."

"As much as I don't like to say this, but I have to since I agree with you. I'm also in a somewhat state of disbelief." Pam found herself confessing to Bill in what was really their first ever serious conversation. She never expected to have a moment where she was trying to make Bill pissed off or annoyed and it was the same with him. But then again, a lot of things had happened that night already that she wasn't expecting. "I can't believe it was possible to raise someone from the dead. I mean, it was possible with Godric, but he's a vampire and she's not. So this is all not making that much sense."

"Nothing about this makes sense because we have no idea who did it and until we do, we will never understand it. We're in the dark right now." Bill pressed his lips together and fell silent for a minute, just staring at the floor by his feet like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. "You know what else doesn't make sense and makes me wonder? Why would Allie come here instead of to my house? I mean, my house is closer."

"That would have been my first thought but like we said, this whole night is not what we expected. And I'm sure she was too traumatized after digging herself out to think logically. In her mind she wanted to come back to the last place she considered home and to Eric." Pam explained, looking back up the staircase where she heard no voices coming from the direction of Allie's bedroom and shrugged. "She was coming back to Eric but she came across me instead and I just did what I could to clean her up and take care of her."

"I did notice she was in better shape then I thought she would be after getting out of the ground from 6 feet under. And now I see why." Bill pointed out with a tiny smirk that brought her up off the steps with her arms crossed to ward off any other comment from him but he kept on going anyway. "You seem to be protective over her and in a way I have never seen you show towards anyone but Eric."

"Don't ask me to explain it because I don't know why." Pam hissed, feeling unlike herself now that her actions were being pointed out to her by someone else. It was one thing for her to find it weird and different and out of character for her. But to have it brought up by a vampire who also knew what she was like made her feel like she was being attacked personally. "She just walked through that door and asked me for help. And I felt this intense pull to take care of her the way Godric or Eric would have."

"Well, well. I do believe your ship has come in." Bill's stupid smirk got even bigger as they stood apart from each other and he no longer looked at her like she was the feared female vampire that would snap at you if you looked at her wrong. "Pam...I think you're finally getting in touch with your humanity again."

"Oh dear god." Pam scoffed, moving backwards with her arms crossed until her back met the wall and she sent Bill a death glare that would ward off any other statement that said she had changed. "Fuck off Bill."

"You can't take it back now, I saw the look in your eyes and you turned over a new leaf. You would protect that girl with your life, even more then you did before." Bill stated with a shake of his head. "It's ...almost sweet."

"Stop it, you're making me sick."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"It's going to be ok Allie, I promise you it will." Sookie said quietly to me as she continued to stroke my hair much like she had been doing for over 20 minutes since we were left alone. Her fingers combed through my dark strands, lulling me to a state of calmness where I just laid there on the bed in silence. I wasn't comforted or happy or even feeling safe. I was just there, at a state where things were at a standstill for the moment and my wold was starting to slow down and not scare me with its speed. I just wanted to stay like this for a while until I felt strong enough to deal with everything. I don't know how I would do that or how long it would take, but at least I had plenty of people to lean on. And Sookie would stay by my side if I needed her to. "I won't let you deal with this alone."

"I don't want to be alone." I managed to whisper, my eyes still closed as I tried to will my body to rest and fall to sleep but it wasn't working. I was beyond tired, both physically and mentally but I was not able to give into to my exhaustion just yet. It was like I was being kept awake for something more to come. I pulled the blankets tighter over my body and curled up even more on the bed. "Something's about to happen."

"What do you..." Sookie was cut off by the sounds of more shouts coming from down stairs and this time it wasn't just Pam and Bill. My eyes opened quickly, catching Sookie's eyes. We couldn't hear what was being said because the door was still shut, but we were able to make out the addition of two more voices that had joined the fray. Sookie looked at me with a frown before asking. "What the hell is going on?"

That was the last thing she got to say because just like her and Bill's arrival, there was the sound of stomping feet on the staircase that preceded to the door of the room bursting open. And when it did, the presence of the two vampires walking in was what caused me to jumped and completely have that state of calmness ricochet out of my body and I was left there on that bed in a slight quiver as my eyes fell on the faces of Godric and Eric for the first time. I of course looked right at Eric and saw that he had frozen in place after walking through the door and was just staring at me with these wide blue eyes like he thought he was hallucinating. I couldn't blame him for the look he was giving me at all. I knew him well enough to know what was probably going through his head. And I was fairly certain that he didn't think it had been for real when Pam called him to say that I had just suddenly shown up at the house and I was alive like I had been before that night. I wanted to go to him, wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him it was going to be ok. I wanted to tell him that I was alive again and it was all going to be alright. But I couldn't do any of that because I didn't quite believe it myself. So how could I convince him that it was ok when I couldn't even wrap my own mind around it?

"My god..." Godric was the one to break the silence and my attention was drawn away from Eric and to him where his young features appeared even more youthful as his face twisted into an expression that I did not recognize. His eyes bore right into mine, like he was trying to convince himself that what he was seeing was not just a trick. And I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as the realization slowly cloud over his eyes and his pale forehead wrinkled. "It really is true."

"Um..." Sookie looked at him and then turned her face to look down at me as if asking my permission for something. "I'm going to go downstairs with Bill and Pam...is that ok?"

I nodded, barely moving my head but she saw it and I felt her fingers squeeze mine one last time before she got up from the chair and walked towards the door. I watched her pat both Godric and Eric on the arm and then leave the room, shutting the door behind her so it was just me left with the two vampires who meant the world to me and I was unable to lift myself up to look them in the eye properly. That didn't stop Godric because he was the first of us to make a move and he came right over to the bed and sat down in the chair Sookie had been in, bringing us closer to each other then we had been. His hand reached out and his fingers brushed against my cheek and he jumped back as if surprised that I was solid and not some hologram. His hand came back and cupped my cheek, his thumb running across my skin.

"You really are real." He whispered, his eyes clouding over with something that told me he would have cried had he not been holding tightly to his composure. "You came back to us."

"Yes." I barely was able to get even that out as tears welled up in my eyes but they didn't fall. They did cloud my vision and I bit down on my lip so I could stay calm before I spoke again. I was already too close to falling apart and if I didn't hold on to my very fragile state of calm then what I said next would push me over the edge. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked, his smooth forehead wrinkling as his hand dropped down to my shaking shoulder. "What are you apologizing for?"

"For dying on you guys.." I looked passed him as I said this and my eyes met Eric's, that statement was more for him then anyone else. But he didn't keep my gaze for too long and soon he was looking away. I brought my eyes back to Godric and said "I'm sorry for not fighting harder."

"Don't even say that." Godric replied just as a single red tear rolled its way down his cheek while his hand encircled my upper arm again. "That wasn't your fault, don't apologize for it."

"Godric." Eric appeared behind his maker, placing his hand on his shoulder before saying in a blank voice. "Go, leave the room. I need some time with her."

"Alright." Godric wasn't even going to put up a fight and simply squeezed my hand before getting up from the chair. I watched him head for the door, sending Eric a look before he disappeared into the hallway and left me alone with the most important person out of all of them.

Eric took Godric's spot on the chair by the bed just as I turned my head to look up at him. We sat there in silence for a few minutes just staring at one another like we were trying to memorize the others features all over again. He was just as beautiful as he had been the last time I saw him, the only difference was that his eyes were filled with the most inconceivable amount of pain I had ever seen. I don't know what I looked like to him, but considering I felt nowhere near like myself, I probably looked as weak as I felt. I wanted to speak up and let him know it was still me that he was looking at but before a word could be spoken, Eric moved towards me.

I didn't move when he leaned forward to settle his head against my neck and I didn't move when I felt his arm go gently around me and pulled me closer to the edge of the bed so I was more near to him. I was touching him again, feeling his skin on mine for the first time since I had been resurrected and feeling that familiar old sensation made my heartbeat pick up and start to pound like crazy against the inside of my chest. I knew he could feel it as well as hear it because his grip on me tightened in response and I tucked my head closer to him, feeling a flame of comfort rise up in me. There was a wetness spreading across my shoulder, soaking the t shirt I was wearing and I realized right then and there that it was Eric's tears I was feeling on my skin. Knowing that he was sitting there with me and crying gave me the courage to finally reach out and touch him. I placed my hand on the back of his neck and it seemed like my touch was what made him pull back to look me in the eye. His pale face was stained red, marking only the 4th time I had ever seen him cry and seeing that heartbroken look in his eyes is what finally made my tears start to fall and a small sob escaped from my lips, startling Eric.

"No, not this." His hands immediately went to either side of my face, holding my head up while his thumbs wiped away the hot tears rolling down my cheeks as he shook his head. " Don't do that... don't cry."

"Take your own advice." I said quietly, placing my hand on his face with my fingertips touching the red trails of blood and then brushed them away. "I don't want to see you cry any more then you want to see me cry."

"I don't know how this happened." Eric replied, his hands still holding my face as his eyes roamed over every inch of me. "I can't believe you came back to me. I don't know how it's possible, but I don't care. You're here with me again just like I had dreamed you would be. And it actually came true."

"I..." My voice was cut off at that moment by a very loud yawn and a heaviness that seemed to settle in almost immediately afterward, reminding me of my body's previous state of exhaustion. I wanted to push it aside like I had been doing since I got here, but my body had reached its breaking point and I knew I would have to give in soon. I felt guilty as I looked up and my eyes met Eric's. I wanted to spend more time with him but it just was too much right now. "I'm sorry, I want to be awake but my body is tired and I need to sleep."

"I understand." He nodded, his face filling with disappointment briefly but it was gone the next time I looked. I was pulling my hands out of his and he was letting me go so I could lay back down but before I could take them back completely, he grabbed my wrist, causing me jump as he demanded. "What happened to your hands?"

"Don't make me say it." I quickly shook my head as I shuddered in remembrance of what had happened to put my hands in this condition. I glanced down at the white bandages and then closed my eyes. "The others can tell you what I told them, but do not ask me to repeat it."

"You went through hell tonight, didn't you?" Eric nodded and relented his hold on a need for answers from me. He went to pull away but I found the strength to reach out and grab his wrist and regained his attention. "What is it?"

"Don't move, just stay here with me until I fall asleep." I practically begged of him. I didn't want to be alone and being around him brought as much comfort as I could hope to get right now. And I wasn't about to let him go just yet. " I fought so hard to come back to you tonight and I don't want to watch you walk away."

"Then I will stay here at your side." He agreed, sitting back down in the chair and intertwining his fingers with mine, as I curled back up on the bed as his other hand went to my hair and I heard him say softly. "Sleep, we'll talk about everything when it has sunk in and isn't so fresh."

"Ok." I closed my eyes, willing sleep to come to me as I kept my grip on his hand tight and whispered one last thing. "I'm sorry this happened to us. I'm sorry I hurt you that night. And more importantly...I'm sorry I didn't stay alive for you like I promised."

Eric was silent for a while, allowing my words to seep in on both of us. I did feel guilt for not fighting harder to hold on to my life. I remembered that night clearly and even though I thought I had fought as hard as I could, it wasn't enough. It didn't make me keep my promise to Eric to stay alive. I tried but I had failed and the ramifications of that were written all over his face. I had destroyed him completely by making him love me and then letting him watch me die right in front of him. Even now when I had been resurrected by some stranger and was able to come back to the life I had before, things would never be the same again. My death had rocked not only his world, but everyone else's and it broke my heart to know how much it had affected them. I couldn't change what had happened, I could only move forward and hope to reclaim any sense of normalcy. But even I knew that it wouldn't be easy to move forward from here. I felt Eric's grip on my hand tighten and I lifted my head to look at him so our eyes met.

"You're alive now...that's all I care about at the moment."

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

"Alright, someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on." Eric snapped out loud the moment he rounded the corner into the living room and found Pam and Godric sitting with Sookie and Bill but their attention was immediately drawn over to him when he made his presence known. He had left the room after Allison had fallen asleep and when he was sure she wouldn't wake up, he decided to go talk to the others to see if he could get answers because he desperately needed to know how this was possible. He looked at each of their faces before asking "What happened to her? How is this possible?"

"We don't know the answer to that, it's a mystery." Godric spoke up from his spot by Pam on the couch, his face reflecting the anguish that had been present since they had gotten that call a few hours ago. "She just showed up here and Pam was the one to see her first."

"That's true." Pam agreed, turning her body in his direction to take charge of the conversation. "She was with me the longest after she was resurrected, so I could tell you whatever else you want to know."

"What happened to her hands? Why is she hurt?" He demanded, remembering the thickness of those bandages and how he was in the dark about what had happened to her. "What the hell happened tonight?"

"She doesn't know any more then we do. All she knows is that she woke up suddenly and knew what had happened and that she had to get out." Pam explained, looking straight at him as she said this. "She was stuck down there in her coffin, that's why her hands are so messed up. She was so traumatized that she forgot she had her powers and she was trying to physically break the wood to get herself out. And when she did break it, she had to keep digging until she got out of the grave. And then she showed up here and after I called everyone, I took care of her as best as I could. This is where we are at right now."

"Damn it." Eric growled, looking up at the ceiling to the second floor where Allison was sleeping and he had to beat down the urge to throw something. He hated that this had happened. He hated that he had lost her and now that she was back, she had been put through the ringer and it wasn't fair. "She really did go through hell to come back and she might be ruined now."

"She's not ruined, she's in shock" Godric frowned, getting up from the couch and came towards him with his arms crossed. "We're all in shock and it's going to take more then one night before anything resembles normalcy. And even then things will be different. We watched her die and now she has been resurrected, we can't can't come away from this unchanged because that would be a lie. Every one of us will be forever changed whether we like it or not."

"That may be true, but one thing that will be different is this..." Eric found himself looking upward again as if Allison were there and he was saying this directly to her. "I won't be letting her out of my sight ever again."

_20 minutes later_

"I don't know if you'll be mad at me for doing this against your will, but I can't bear to see you in pain." Eric said quietly to the sleeping girl on the bed in front of him who didn't even make a move as he continued to rub his own blood across her damaged hands and watched as they slowly healed. "But I don't care if you do get mad. I'm going to take care of you for the rest of our lives. And this time I will keep my promise."

Eric still had a hard time believing that any of this was real. Even after seeing and talking to her, he could have passed it off as some trick or illusion. But then after he was left alone with her and felt her body under his hand, it became so overwhelmingly real that he found himself falling apart and crying against her shoulder. This was what he had always hoped would happen. That a miracle would send her back to him and now that's exactly what he had gotten. He should have been rejoicing and instead he was stuck in despair. She may have been back, but she was changed forever because of this resurrection. She was weak and fragile and traumatized beyond anything he had seen before. And that was to be expected. She couldn't just wake up in her coffin, being forced to dig her way out and make her way home and not be changed by it. She may have looked the same, but inside she was not the same girl he had fallen in love with. He still loved her with all of his cold, dead heart but she was broken right now and she needed him to take care of her. And that was why after he had spoken to the others and found out what happened, he came up here to remove her bandages so he could fix them. She was so deeply asleep that she didn't even move in the slightest as he drew his own blood and rubbed it across her wounds. It didn't take long before her hands were looking back to normal with only the blood stains to show there had been any damage at all. He smiled in satisfaction as he set her hands back down and looked at her peaceful face and brushed the hair back from her face.

"You really are a miracle, my miracle." He pressed his lips to her forehead before sitting back down and rested his head on her chest. He wanted to listen to her new heartbeat all night long just to ensure that none of this was some wild and crazy dream. He heard it pounding so close to his ear, sounding stronger then ever and it made him long for the old nights when they use to lie like this without a care in the world. But those nights were gone and it would never the same again. It would get better, but it wouldn't be like it was before. Things were too different but he knew that it didn't change how he felt about her. It was a rough patch right now but somehow he knew they would get passed it. Just as long as they always stuck together. He closed his eyes and allowed the sound of her pounding heart to put him at a more relaxed state then he had been in 2 months before he said quietly. "Don't you ever leave me again."


	10. Have the truth, make a noise

**Chapter 10 Have the truth, make a noise**

He was still there when I woke up the next morning.

I had barely opened my eyes before they landed on the hunched over figure on the side of the bed next to me. It was Eric, still sitting in the chair he had been in when I had fallen asleep and he was leaning against the bed with his arms folded on top of the mattress and his head laying down with his eyes shut. I looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was just past dawn and this was right around the time when Eric usually took to his rest for the day. So it was no surprise when I woke up and he was the one sleeping. I could have smiled right then and there but I couldn't muster the strength to do it because it would have been fake. But the sight of Eric's peaceful face did comfort me and I turned over on my side and allowed my fingers to reach towards his head. I brushed the blonde hair back from his forehead, feeling the silky strands on my skin and I couldn't help but continue to stroke his blond locks while I lay there staring off into space.

"Well you two look quite comfortable." Godric's voice spoke quietly from the doorway and I lifted my head to find the older vampire standing there with his hands tucked into the pockets of his white linen pants as our eyes met. "I think you exhausted him."

"He exhausted himself." I replied back, looking down at Eric and see the redness rimming his eyes that had nothing to do with his emotions and asked. "He hasn't been resting well has he?"

"Not since your death." Godric nodded, pressing his lips together as he quietly walked into the room, eying his child with watchful eyes. "He's been...different. And it's been tough."

"Yea, I can see that." I sighed, touching Eric's hair lightly and I felt a tremble come over me as I looked down at him. I knew how tough this all was on me, but seeing it reflected on Eric's face was heartbreaking. So I didn't dwell on it too much and focused my eyes on the other vampire in the room. "Why are you still awake? Shouldn't you be resting since it's dawn?"

"I knew you were awake and I just wanted to come see you." He told me, coming over to the side of the bed opposite of Eric and said. "I would like some time with you if you are up for it."

"Ok. But let's go downstairs. I don't want to bother Eric." I said, pushing back the covers and moving over to the edge and placed my feet on the floor to stand up. I was barely straightened up before Godric scooped me up in his arms and flashed out of the room without making a sound. He held on to me tightly as he rushed down the stairs to the tiled front hallway and then walked with me over to the dark living room where the only light came from the fire he must have started. I raised my eyebrows up at him and said. "I've never seen you make a fire before."

"I did it more for your benefit, I knew you would be cold after being in that warm bed all night." Godric pointed out, setting me on the floor in front of the fire before snatching a blanket off the couch and wrapping it around my shoulders. He went to move away but I found myself reaching out for his arm to keep him next to me.

"Don't move." I said, tugging on his arm so he would be sitting on the floor next to me and he obliged, stretching his legs out in front of him towards the fire as he settled there with his arm looped through mine. I tightened my grip and told him. "I'm comforted with you near by."

"Well I'm glad to hear that." He replied with what I knew was a smile on his face as I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I want to do whatever I can to make you feel better."

"I...I don't feel better and I don't know if I will for a while." I said heavily clutching his arm close to me as I looked at the slowly dancing flames. I felt different then I expected, a lot different. It was a difference that filled me with a hollowness and the urge to divulge a confession. "I don't feel alive...I feel empty and lost."

"That's because you're still in shock But you are the living proof that this kind of resurrection is possible. And I can imagine that this is not easy at all even if you are alive again..." Godric spoke with slow and steady words, patting my hands with his cold palm. "But you are alive and while it will never be the same, things will get better."

"I hope you're right." I sighed, lifting my head off his shoulder so we were looking at each other. "I can barely stand feeling like this for a night, let alone forever."

"It won't be forever, it will just take longer then overnight." Godric shook his head and placed his hand on my cheek. "But you have all of us to lean on. We'll get you through this."

"I hope that happens."

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

_Stay calm. _

_Just explain the situation to him and hope for the best. He's a logical man, he should understand better then anyone how the supernatural world works._

_It will be fine. Just keep things steady._

Sookie kept these thoughts repeating inside of her head as she stood in the back hallway of Merlotte's and stared through the open doorway of Sam's office to where her boss was sitting at his desk, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being stared at. She was suppose to be starting her shift in an hour but instead she had come here early, not to work but to tell Sam she was not going to be in at all. She had a more important matter that needed her attention and it was going to probably take up a good amount of time since she had no idea how to go about it. After the shock of the previous night had worn off, she had returned home with Bill and she had confided in him that in the morning she was going to put in motion the process to get Allie back on her feet and that was by doing whatever official paperwork needed to be done to reestablish that she was no longer dead. She wasn't sure how she was going to get the police or whoever dealt with this to believe her but she was going to find out. And therefore she couldn't be at work today. But it was going to present her own set of problem since she would need to let him know what was going on. She couldn't lie because he was pretty good at weeding out her lies, just like he had when the war was going on. He knew something was up but she hadn't told him and now she would have to explain everything and just hoped that he would take it well.

"Hey Sam?" She knocked on his door, the sound making him swirled around in his chair with a guarded look on his face like he already knew what she was going to ask him. "We need to talk."

"You need the day off again, don't you?" He asked, setting down the stack of files he was holding and sat back in the chair with his arms folded over his chest. "What's the excuse this time?"

"The same as it was the last time, it has to do with Allie. But not for the reason you may think." She felt her heart thud wildly in her chest as she looked at him, having no idea how he would react to what she was about to say. "I have to file some paperwork with the police."

"Why? What the hell is going on?" Sam asked, getting up from his chair the minute she said this and he started looking concerned. "I thought that was all settled."

"It was but something happened last night that I have to report." Sookie made sure to keep her voice steady because Sam was already going to be freak ed out enough and it wouldn't do any good if she didn't remain calm. "Um, this is going to be hard to believe but just remember that this world is full of things we can't explain or understand and this is one of them."

"Ok...well tell me what it is because I have a feeling its not minor." Sam frowned hard like he already knew that what she had to tell him was something bigger then any of them thought. "Sookie, what's going on?"

"Ok, when I tell you this, keep in mind that I realize how crazy it sounds. But I saw it for myself and I know it's real. It's just a matter of convincing you." She explained with a deep breath. She did know how insane it sounded because up until last night, she believed what the rest of the world believed. That when you died, you were dead. That was it and there was no coming back. It was different with Godric because he was a vampire and the same rules didn't apply to humans, or near humans like her and Allie. So she too had been skeptical, but seeing Allie lying in that bed looking the same as she did the night she died, changed her entire way of thinking. She just hoped Sam was open to it. "Somehow, some way...Allie was resurrected. She's alive."

Sam stared at her for the first minute and judging by the look on his face she was certain that she had gotten through to him. But then his face twisted and the room was filled with the sounds of his laughter. She wasn't surprised, she knew it wasn't just going to be easy to get anyone to believe this crazy notion so she was ok with standing there with Sam basically laughing in her face.

"You have got to be kidding me." He exclaimed, slapping himself on the leg as he tried to compose himself. "You're actually going to get me to believe that she is alive?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do." She nodded, knowing he would have to have physical proof of what she was saying and the first round of that proof was only a few minutes away. She motioned behind her to the door and said. "Come with me. There's something you need to see."

_10 minutes later_

"Holy shit. You weren't kidding." Sam's disbelief came out of every part of his voice as they stood side by side and stared down Allie's grave where a rather large hole was situated right in the middle of the plot. A hole big enough for a human body to crawl out of.

This was the first time she was seeing Allie's grave since she had been resurrected and it sent a jolt through her heart to see the where her cousin had been forced to crawl out of. But it wasn't nearly as tough on her as it was on Sam who had been doubtful since they left the bar. And the minute their eyes landed on the burial plot, Sam had frozen in the grass next to it, the realization dawning on him and he had no words for what he was seeing. She too had a hard time filling the silence after seeing the grave. She saw the dirt and disturbed grass where Allie's hands had grabbed at once they broke the surface and Sookie could only imagine what must have been going through Allie's mind when she took that first breath of night air. It must have been so filled with desperation and elation.

"She dug herself out. She's alive just like you said she was." Sam's words almost jumbled together as he was the one who spoke first and she watched as he crossed his arms in complete shock before looking up at her. "Where is she now?"

"She's in Shreveport with Eric. She went back to the last place she called home and that was with him." Sookie explained, tucking her hands in her jacket pockets. "She chose to go back there instead of to Bill's house and..."

"I want to see her." Sam cut her off quickly, his forehead in a deep frown as he stepped back. "Right away, I want to go and see her. I have to be looking at her in person for this all to sink in or else I will never believe its real."

"Alright, come with me and I will drive and explain everything." She promised, motioning them back towards the exit where her car was parked right outside. Sam followed with no hesitation and together they left Allie's grave to head out to Shreveport to show just how much of a miracle still existed in this world.

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that morning<span>_

"You really should be resting. I don't want you to get the bleeds." I told Godric a few hours later as we sat next to each other on the couch in the living room just staring off into space like I had been doing since we had last spoken. I didn't even realize how much time had gone by until my eyes landed on the clock on the table across the room and I saw that it was already past eleven. I turned to look at Godric and saw that he was still sitting as calmly as he ever was. "You should go down to Eric's resting area, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"I don't want to leave you alone for the rest of the day." He shook off any further suggestion of letting me be by myself and just reached over to place his hand over mine, gaining my attention in the process. "I don't need as much rest as I use to. That's a plus of being a 2000 year old vampire."

"You say that all the time to everything." I pointed out, remembering his tendency to refer to his age a lot even before I had died and it almost comforted me to hold on to something before all this had happened with my death and resurrection. "But I would be fine by myself."

"You just came back to life last night, after being dead for almost 2 months. I think its too soon to be leaving you alone." Godric explained, squeezing my hand with that familiar gentle smile on his lips. "I don't mind staying with you, even if you don't feel like speaking."

"Yea, but you..." I wasn't able to finish my statement because at that moment we both heard the roar of a car engine come charging down the driveway as if on some kind of desperate mission and both Godric and I looked at each other, knowing it had to have been Sookie since she was the only other human who knew where Eric lived. So when the car stopped, we both relaxed and waited for her to walk in. But then I saw a frown appear on Godric's face and I didn't understand why until the front door open and in walked my cousin, only she wasn't alone. There was someone standing behind her and when she moved aside after meeting my eyes, I found myself shrinking back in shock. "Sam?"

Sam, upon seeing me froze in place much like everyone else did when they first saw me alive again. Sookie shut the door behind them and then stood off to the side, looking between him and me like she had to mediate things. I could tell from her thoughts that she had told Sam everything, so he wasn't in the dark about any of it. But he was staring at me with these big eyes as if he was expecting to see me as this sort of transparent figure and it was a shock to him to see me sitting there as solid as before I had died. I didn't know how to react so I just sat there in silence as Sookie left his side and came into the living to sit by me to explain this and even as she spoke, I still found myself staring at Sam. He was the only other person besides those who had been in the war, to know I was alive again and having that visitor from my old world kind of threw me for a loop.

"Allie, it's ok. I just brought him here so he could see for himself that I wasn't lying." She explained, taking my hand as she spoke as if I needed the reassurance. "I told him what happened and he just wanted to see it was real."

"This may have been the wrong time to spring it on her." Godric spoke up, eying Sam cautiously like he was the enemy but I knew it was nothing against my old friend, Godric was just looking out for me. "This all just happened last night, give her a second to get use to this new life before you bring other people into it."

"Sam was her friend at one point and he deserved to know what was going on." Sookie frowned, her hand still on mine but her eyes were directed at the vampire on the other side of me. "He was affected just as much when she died as the rest of us were. He should be allowed to see her too."

"I'm not saying he shouldn't. Of course he should, she needs as many people supporting her as possible. It's going to be toughest on her." Godric said, running his fingers through his hair absentmindedly. "But doing it the morning after she was resurrected is not the best idea."

"I think you're wrong."

"I think you're the one who is wrong."

"Well I think you both need to stop talking like I'm not here and leave us alone." I spoke up, having all three faces shoot towards me in shock that I had spoken. I nodded to the doorway an waved them away. "Go. Sam and I need to talk."

"Allison..."Godric began but I cut him off when I leveled him with a stare.

"I mean it, leave us alone." I ordered with as much strength and conviction in my voice as I could managed. Godric looked at Sookie and together the two of them stood up in unison and left the room, walking passed Sam who moved toward me and they shut the door together. There was silence descending on the room as we listened to Godric and Sookie walk away and we both turned and looked at each other at the same time, a heaviness settling in my chest as I sad the only thing that came to mind. "Hey Sam."

"Hey Allison."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"So you're …."

"Alive? Yea, I am."

"I don't know..."

"How it's possible? Join the club."

"You were...were..."

"The word is resurrected."

"I can't believe you're back."

"You're not alone."

This had been the nature of his conversation with Allison after he had been left alone with her. It had taken a while before he was able to move forward and sit next to her and it had taken even more time before he could actually start saying something. And when he had, it all just came blubbering out and she would pick up the last half of what he was saying. He would begin to speak and just like that she would finish it for him like she use to back when they were at their closest. He was still finding it hard to believe that the girl they all thought was dead was sitting here next to him but there she was, looking just the same as the last time he had seen her. It was like nothing had ever happened, like it could have all been a bad dream this whole time. But the look in her eyes and the timid way she moved around said it was far too real to even consider it was a dream or more accurately a nightmare. She was real and what was happening was real. It was a lot to take in and he wouldn't lie when he said he thought it was bullshit. But something in him had said that this wasn't a trick and that was why he had made Sookie take him here to Shreveport to see for himself. And now here he was and it was still blowing his mind.

"This is so surreal." He said when he had regained his composure and turned his eyes on her just to insure she hadn't evaporated while he was lost in thought. She was still there next to him with her legs pulled up to her chest and her long hair hanging down her back watching him with a distracted look on her face. "I just can't believe this was possible. Things like this aren't suppose to be real."

"That's what I thought and I wish I could understand it but I don't know what happened." She shrugged, reaching up to play with the long strands of hair. "All I know is that I woke up and I had to dig myself out."

"I know, Sookie told me about everything on the way here." Sam shuddered, remembering the details Sookie had relayed to him on the drive and it made him cringe to think of what Allison had to go through just to come back to this world. He didn't know how she was keeping it together. "I wonder who did it."

"I want to know because I want to say thank you for bringing me back. But then again I want to also punch them in the face for leaving me down there." She said, her voice sounding dark for the first time since she started speaking and there was the slightest hint of a glare on her face. "I mean, if you're doing something like bringing a person back to life, you have to assume they will be brought back in the last place they were at. And in my case it was my coffin."

"I don't even want to think about it." Sam tried not to think about what it must have been like to have opened your eyes and realized that you were stuck 6 feet underground. That was terrifying just to even imagine let alone experience. "I'm so sorry this all happened to you."

"I never thought things would end up this way." She replied with a sigh, her fingers twirling her hair slowly. "I didn't think I would end up dying that night."

"Speaking of that night, I now have the opportunity to ask you something that I've been obsessing about for a while." Sam piped up as the thought hit him that had been bouncing around his head for weeks. "Why didn't you or Sookie tell me about this war? Why didn't you tell me that you were in trouble?"

"Because there were already too many people I loved involved in this war and I couldn't have any more risk their lives for me." She answered honestly, swallowing nervously as she spoke before looking at him. "Sam, despite everything that has happened between us, you were still my friend and I loved you. I couldn't have you putting yourself at risk for me."

"That should have been my decision, don't you think?" He asked, watching her intently like he had not done for a while. Even before she died, they hadn't been around each other much because he was too busy being an idiot to try and fix their friendship and if it hadn't been for her resurrection, he never would have been given a second chance to make things right. "Look, I think since we got this other shot at being friends, we should make the most of it and try and work through our issues."

"We will, but not right now. Right now, I just need to readjust and then I will start taking on obstacles but until then, let's just leave it in the past." She stated with a quietness in her voice that he couldn't defy. He could only imagine the toll this had taken on her and he didn't want to make it more difficult so he just nodded in agreement.

"Ok, we'll talk about it another time." He assured her, sending a smile her way that she did not return but he understood why. He just propped his elbow up on the back of the couch and asked. "So how do you think you're going to deal what comes after being resurrected?"

"To be honest, I don't really know." She shrugged her delicate shoulders at him as she set her chin back on her knees. "I didn't expect any of this to happen. I didn't expect to die and I certainly didn't expect to be resurrected. So I'm not sure how to go from here."

"Well, you have plenty of people who love you, including me." He reached out and touched her hand for the first time and she turned her head around to look at him as he nodded. "I'm here for you if you need me to be."

"Thank you Sam"

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

It was nightfall and yet I was still sitting curled up on the sofa like I had been for the rest of the afternoon since Sam had left. I didn't feel much like talking after our conversation and so I had taken to just sitting here and staring into the fire without really saying much. Godric had stayed with me for the rest of the day because he had no other choice, the sun was still beaming down on the outside world and obviously he couldn't go out in it. So he stayed with me until just a few moments ago when I said I wanted to be alone and he could leave. He reluctantly did it only because he knew Eric would be showing up as soon as night had fallen, so I wouldn't be alone for long. So he kissed my forehead and left in a flash, giving me only a few minutes of alone time before I heard footsteps coming across the hall and towards the doorway and when I looked up, there was Eric's tall frame leaning against the wood with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Why weren't you in the room when I awoke?" He asked, a slight frown on his face as he spoke like he was annoyed. "I fell asleep at dawn and you were still in a deep slumber when I fell under. But yet you weren't there now. I would have assumed you would be."

"Godric wanted time with me since he didn't have it last night, so he brought me down here this morning. He stayed with me during the day." I told Eric, tucking my hair behind my ears while I looked at him. "But he's gone now. I sent him away because he had been here since last night and he should have break."

"You've been sitting here all day?" Eric asked, coming off the door frame and flashing over to the couch where he took the empty spot beside me. His hand going to my hands where they rested on top of my knees after I pulled my legs up to my chest. "I would have stayed up with you if you had wanted me too."

"You needed rest and it wouldn't have been right to make you waste your resting time just to sit with me while I barely said a few words." I told him with a shrug, feeling the coldness from his hand seep into my skin. "Besides, I already made you suffer enough."

"You didn't make me suffer, your death did." His hand left mine as quick as it had appeared and went to his own lap. "And I don't care if I got the bleeds, if you needed me I would have been there."

"Well it matters to me. And I don't want to see you hurt more then you already have been." I muttered, setting my chin on top of my knees as I looked at him. It felt like we were miles apart even though I could still feel the intensity of the love I had for him. That hadn't changed in the slightest. But having to watch me die and then come back put a wedge between us and it would take a while before things would ever get back to where they were. "I care if you have the bleeds. That may sound stupid to you, but I care about that."

"Well you know what I care about?" He asked with a rough tinge to his voice that made me look up into his brilliant blue eyes only to see a flicker of the old Eric Northman there. "I care about seeing you smile again. That's what I want more then anything. Because when you smile, you look more alive then at any other point. And I want you to look alive."

"That...is really sweet." I felt touched by his simple confession and I saw my hand unfolding itself away from my other one and reaching out for his, lacing my fingers through his long ones when our skin touched. Eric tilted his head to look at me and I could see the desire in his eyes to have me make that simple action a reality, but I just couldn't because it would have been a lie. "It's too big a leap for me right now."

"What can I do to make it easier for you?" He asked seriously, his eyes and face filling up with determination even though we both knew this was not something he could fix. "Just tell me what to do and I will do it."

"There's nothing you or anyone can do. This just has to run its course." I said quietly, putting my feet down to the floor and moving over so I could lay my head against his shoulder. Feeling him against me always made me feel safe and I needed that now. I wrapped both hands around his upper arm and sighed. "Just be here...that makes it less difficult."

"I will be here always." He said, pulling my legs up into his lap so he had a part of me to hold on to as well before he spoke again. "I will be the man that you want me to be and I will change myself if I have to."

"I don't want you to change because if you did then you wouldn't be the man I fell in love with." I told him honestly, knowing that if I looked up there would be a gleam in his eyes and that comforted my poor heart that had been ravaged by so much devastation. I tightened my grip on him. "Stay this way forever, you're already the man I want you to be."

"Now that sounds like the old Allison." He replied with what I knew had to have been a smirk on his lips. His fingers encased my knees and rubbed circles in my skin as he spoke. "I'm glad you haven't lost all parts of yourself."

"I'm glad too." I whispered, hugging his arm to my chest as I tucked my cheek even more tightly against his shoulder. "You know I love you right?"

"Of course I know...I've always known that."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Molly! Where are you?" Aaron's panicked voice came through the front door of her apartment, sounding so frantic and out of breath that she came running from the back room to find him just entering the hallway looking like a complete mess with his hair disheveled and his clothes hanging half off him. He looked like he had run all the way here, dressed in the first clothes that his hands had touched. As soon as his eyes spotted her, he began to shout. "Why the fuck did you not pick up your damn phone?"

"My home phone broke and I forgot to buy a new one. And my cell phone was off since I had to work today." Molly explained, combing her fingers through her short dark hair and looked at her friend with interest. She had never seen him this freaked out before but she wasn't worried because knowing Aaron the way she did, it probably wasn't anything too serious. But still she had to make sure. "Why? What's wrong?"

"You should have turned your phone back on. Or at least turned on the news. But I came over as soon as I heard." He snapped, ripping his jacket off and throwing it over a near by chair before he walked over to her with his hands tucked under his arms. "It rained in Bon Temps and Shreveport last night."

"No it didn't, you had to have heard wrong. You've been working too hard lately so your focus had to be off." Molly waved her hands in the air, any concern slipping away the moment she said this. Because it was true, Aaron worked too much and when he forgot to schedule time off, he worked way many more days then he was suppose to and his attention wasn't always at the best. So he was most likely wrong about this. "That's not correct, the weather guy said there would be no rain there until tomorrow. I checked it after I did the last part of the resurrection and that's why I haven't checked it since then."

"Well it did rain and not only that, it stormed really badly. There was flooding everywhere. It was bad." Aaron shot back reaching out and taking her by the arms to shake her. And it seemed like this action was to reinforce his words that were coming next. "You understand what I'm saying don't you?"

Molly felt her entire body freeze as the impact of his statement sank into every pore of her skin and she found her heart skipping a beat as she realized what this meant. A rain storm in Bon Temps was what they had been waiting for, what they should have been keeping an eye out for more vigilantly then they had. This was the sign that was suppose to have completed the process, and they had missed it. It had occurred when she wasn't even paying attention and now it could have had dire consequences. Her hands began to shake as she looked up at Aaron.

"We have to get to that cemetery right now."

_50 minutes later_

"Oh..my..."

Molly couldn't even find it within herself to finish that sentence as she stood there with Aaron in the darkened cemetery and stared down at Allison grave with the shovel still clutched in her hand. When the full brunt of what was going on had hit her, she wasted no time in grabbing her keys and driving out to Bon Temps. Actually Aaron ended up driving since he was the slightly more calm one and it would have been dangerous for her to operate a vehicle when her mind was going a million miles an hour. And while it seemed like forever to get there, it really only took 45 minutes to reach the graveyard. And once the car came to a full stop, she jumped out and popped the trunk to grab the shovel she kept back there for this very moment. And it was urgency that drove her through the cemetery since this should have been taken care of last night and not a full 24 hours later. But when they arrived at the grave, they were both stunned to see that a shovel would no longer be needed because there was already a good sized hole in the ground. And it wasn't a hole dug by a man made object, it was a hole made by something coming out from underneath the ground. And realizing that it meant Allison had dug herself out, she felt her entire body shake in horror as the shovel fell from her hands.

"Molly? Calm down." Aaron's stunned voice reached through to her and she felt his hand encircle around her wrist as he turned her towards him. "It's going to be ok.."

"Oh my god. What have I done?" Molly felt her lower lip quiver as she looked down at the grass and her eyes fell on the hole that her daughter had emerged from and it nearly sent her over the edge. She could still see the faint spots in the ground where her fingers had probably grasped at to pull herself out of the grave and that was more disturbing then anything she had ever encountered in her life because this was her fault. She was responsible for this. And for whatever torment came after. She looked at Aaron in horror. "How could I leave her down there?"

"You didn't know and if you had you would have been here right as soon as the storm had started. It's not your fault." Aaron pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her but she wasn't sure if that was possible, bit when something like this was happening that she was responsible for. "You had the best of intentions, you still do. You just hit a roadblock that's all."

"This is not a roadblock. This was a horrible lapse in judgment. I should have been watching for any sign of the smallest storm due to hit that town and I didn't. And now look what happened. She had to dig herself out of her own grave." Molly pulled away from him in utter disgust at her actions and looked around the empty graveyard, almost like she expected Allison to just be waiting by a tree in the distance, but of course she wasn't. Why would she spend any more time in a graveyard after what she had gone through? Molly shuddered as she looked at the tombstone. "What kind of mother am I?"


	11. Some Mood Tonight

**Chapter 11 Some Mood Tonight**

_A few days later_

"So, do I dare ask how things have been going with you and Allison?" Godric hesitantly made this statement almost a week later as the two of them gathered down in the resting area in the basement so not to be overheard by Allison and for the first time since the resurrection, they were discussing how life has been for them. Only there was not as much to discuss as they all thought.

"To be honest, I thought there would be some kind of progress. But there isn't." Eric answered back with a deep set frown. He knew he couldn't expect things to go right back to normal just because she was alive again, but he at least thought there would be a smidgen of hope on the horizon and there wasn't. He looked at his maker through the darkness and shrugged. "It just seems to be getting worse."

"How so?" Godric's face twisted into a concerned expression as it always did when something wasn't right with Allison. "What's going on with her now?"

"She's just not herself, she's not doing well and it just seems that instead of coping, she has been spiraling downward." Eric directed his eyes up at the ceiling, knowing Allison was still upstairs where he had left her. She was usually always there as she seemed unwilling to venture out to any other part of the house. "She's timid and jumpy and skittish. Even around me and I don't know what to do."

"She's been through more then anyone should have to go through at that age and its a miracle that she even came back to us. That in itself is hard to deal with since we all thought it was impossible. So we have to expect an adjustment period, because remember that it was barely a week ago that she was resurrected." Godric reminded him, as if he could forget. Some nights it seemed like that day happened a long time ago and other nights it feel like it was just happening. It was something none of them were prepared to face or deal with, so they had to figure it out together and thankfully Godric had been there every step of the way. "It will be tough but it won't be like this forever."

"I want to believe you but I have a hard time finding truth in that." Eric had no problem disagreeing with his maker because it was honestly how he felt. He didn't believe things would improve because they were so bad right now that it w as hard to think they could ever get better. Allison was just such a different person then she use to be and while he understood why, it didn't mean he didn't hate it. "There is this distance between her and I and I can't see a way to bridge it."

"Things are not going to be perfect this soon, I know you know that." Godric retorted with a sigh, sitting down in a chair set against the wall and looked at him with wide eyes. "So you have to give it a little more time."

"I'm trying to keep that in mind but there are other things keeping me from being as understanding as I want to be." Eric confessed, feeling a frown take over his face as he was reminded of the forbidden things he had been feeling.

"What other things things are you referring too?" Godric wanted to know, but being as they were maker and child, he probably already had an idea of what it was, he just wanted Eric to say it out loud.

"I know I shouldn't be feeling this, but I can't help it. I'm mad as hell and it's at her." Eric snapped, feeling that negativity shake loose and explode out of his mouth. "I know its not her fault but I am angry and frustrated over this whole situation and I can't express it since its directed at her. It's irrational, I know but I'm furious that she didn't fight harder to stay alive. And now that she's back, I'm frustrated that she isn't the old Allison I fell in love with. It wasn't suppose to be like this..."

"None of this was suppose to happen but..."

"We were suppose to be happy God damn it!" Eric exclaimed, slamming his fist into the nearby wall. "She forced herself into my life, she forced me to feel human. She doesn't get to just skip out of life and leave me alone with all these fucking emotions. It's not fair."

"Life's not fair Eric, and we're going to be dealt with unexpected surprises and all we can do is try to work through it as best as we can." Godric said in his usual calm tone that showed he believed everything he was saying, even if Eric didn't. "You just need to be more patient with her and I promise you it will work out. You two will be happy again."

"You better be right...that's all I'm saying."

* * *

><p><em><span>Upstairs<span>_

It was suffocating.

I was slowly being driven mad by the confines of these four walls, by the room I hardly left.

The room I once found comfort and safety in was now feeling like a prison that I felt the need to escape from.

I knew considering escape was going to end up getting me in trouble, but I was so locked away inside my own world that I couldn't even care. I had to break free.

"I have to get out of this room, this house before I go completely insane." I muttered to myself, sitting on the edge of my bed and looked around at my bed room where I had been sitting alone since the sun set. "I can't take this anymore."

The last week since my resurrection had been pure torture for me and for everyone else around me. I was smart enough to know that after going through something like this that things were not going to return to normal for a while. But I was naïve enough to hope for it and that proved to be detrimental to me. Because even after being reunited with my loved ones, I fell into an almost state of despair, not knowing how to readjust to the life I had left behind. I thought I would know but I hadn't. It was like everything was strange to me and I pulled away from everyone and was distant to everything. I was shaky and afraid of the tiniest things. I jumped when Eric walked into the room or even when I heard his footsteps approaching. I wasn't afraid of him at all, but my body reacted like I was and I could see in his face that he was hurt by it. I tried to talk to him about it, but I didn't even fully understand it myself, so any explanation didn't make much sense. I felt cut off from my old life and I was struggling inside myself to get back to it. But the world felt darker and scarier then it had before I died. It didn't help that I knew what a world was like without evil, as I had seen it before I woke up in my coffin and I knew I would never find that here in the real world. So it made me scared to even interact with the people I knew and loved. And that was why I kept to myself and stayed as close to this room as I could.

But after a few days of this, the heaviness of what my situation was began to set in on me and I began to see how my resurrection was affecting the people around me. And not only that, but their reactions only seemed to exacerbate my already fragile world. I didn't hate that they were worried about me or that they were constantly around to support me. That was to be expected after what happened 2 months ago and it would take a while before it was ever normal again. But it was the intensity of their worry that was getting to me. Yes I was fragile and unstable and not myself, but I was getting stronger every day. Granted it was very tiny that no one seemed to notice, but I saw it within myself and I knew it was going to be ok. But the constant cloud hanging over me by the others was making me antsy. It was like being in an empty room and having all the sides slowly pressing in on me all at once. It caused me more anxiety then I thought I could have but I didn't have the heart to tell them to back off because they had already been through enough. But I had to do something or else I would explode.

So that's why I decided to climb out of bed and pull on a pair of jeans along with a black tank top and my leather jacket, dressing in real clothes for the first time since I came home. I ran a brush through my long hair, leaving it loose and stuffing my feet into my black sneakers while ultimately deciding to venture out into Shreveport. I could have done it in Bon Temps, but people were just starting to get wind of the fact that I was alive and if I showed up there then I would be bombarded with questions and I wasn't ready for that. So Shreveport was the better option, I barely knew many people and that would work to my advantage, because it wouldn't leave a trail. I wasn't going to tell anyone because I knew they would insist on coming with me and I did not want another figure hovering over me like they had for the last 7 days. I was going to go out alone and they weren't going to stop me, but I would be smart about it. I wouldn't go wandering around out in the open, because then I would be asking for trouble. I would go to a place where there would be plenty of people around. And that's when I decided to go to Fangtasia.

"Pam will love seeing me." I whispered to myself, tucking my keys into my pocket as I left the room and tip toed down the stairs to the first floor. I wasn't worried about Godric and Eric hearing me sneak out because not only were they down in Eric resting area where they could barely hear anything going on above, but also because I could hear the faint sounds of their shouts and knew if there was any moment to get out then now would be it.

I got out through a side door and into the garage where I flicked on the light and quickly got into one of Eric's car that was closest to the door. I knew he would be furious that I was taking one of his vehicles, but I was living on the edge right now and no risk was too great. And I couldn't dwell on it too long because they never left me alone for very long and soon would go upstairs to check on me. So I had to leave now. I turned on the engine, opened the garage door and stepped on the gas. I shot out into the open night and charged down the driveway, knowing I would get major hell for this but I couldn't care less. The relief I felt from leaving the stifling house behind me was too great to make me turn back now. It was going to be great to have time to myself and be among people who wouldn't be hanging over me like I was about to break.

I was free and was facing this world on my own for the first time and I think in the end it was going to change things.

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours earlier<span>_

"I think we need to talk about what happened."

"Aaron, we have talked about it and I'm tired of rehashing the same thing over and over again. So just quit it." Molly found herself almost snapping at her friend as the two gathered inside of her living room just as the sun was setting in the sky. He had come over and just like the nights before, he brought up what they had discovered at the graveyard and they ended up having the same conversation as they did every night. Only tonight it seemed like Aaron was more determined then ever to get her to talk even more. And that was evident by the look on his face from his spot on the couch across from her. "What?"

"Don't you think this is kind of weird?" He asked, raising his dark eyebrow at her while he set down his bottle of beer and stared at her questioningly. "I mean, you see that your daughter dug herself out of her own grave and yet you don't seem to be thinking of what to do now after that happened. And I just think its odd."

"Well what do you want me to do?" Molly sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingertips as she had been doing a lot lately when he brought this up. She knew what he wanted her to say but she didn't want to face and therefore tried to play dumb. "Go on, tell me."

"Oh don't be like that. You know what I'm getting at and that innocent act of yours won't fool anyone. Especially me." Aaron pointed out, making it clear that he knew her habits all too well to be misled by her tone. "You know you need to go back to Bon Temps and talk to Sookie and Bill. They would know where Allison is and you need to confess to everything."

"No way in hell am I doing that right now." Molly protested, shaking her head vehemently at the very thought of facing those people again and even more about facing the daughter she gave up all those years ago. "It's way too soon after the resurrection to drop in on them and spill all this."

"That has been your excuse every time we talk about it. You say its too soon, its too shocking to tell them right now. But its just about you postponing the inevitable because you're not ready to face it yet." Aaron told her, running his hands over his short hair and rolled his eyes. "You're afraid to talk to them aren't you?"

"Aaron, I'm a powerful witch, talking to people does not scare me." Molly tried to pretend to appear stronger then she felt but inside she was feeling exactly what he was saying, scared. "I don't get scared."

"Who do you think you are trying to bullshit? Because it's certainly not me." Aaron's serious expression melted away into a smirk that was probably intended to ease the tension. "I'm your best friend, I know you better then you would like me to and I know when you're scared and you're scared now."

"No I'm not..."

"Yes you are and you know why?" Aaron scooted over across the cushions until he was sitting right next to her and he took her hand in between both of his. "Because you think they're going to give you shit for not paying attention to the last part of the resurrection. And the truth is, yea they will be pissed and they should be. You made the decision to perform a resurrection and instead of being vigilant, you were careless. And they every right to be upset because you left someone they love in the ground."

"But I didn't mean too..."

"But you didn't do it to be cruel. You were doing a good thing and you made a mistake. They will understand that once they know all the facts." Aaron squeezed her hand gently as he spoke, showing her comfort like he had for years. "But the longer you put it off, the worse it will be. Because they deserve answers, especially Allison. She's your daughter and she more then anyone should know and understand what happened to her. Don't you think it will cause more pain and torment if you leave her and everyone wondering whose behind it?"

"I get that, I really do. I want to tell Allison it was me who did it but..." Molly's voice trailed off, just short of her actually admitting that she was scared of the reaction she would get. It would change everything the moment that confession left her mouth. Things would be set in motion that she could not stop and she could be rocking this girl's world in the worse way if she made her presence known. So perhaps it would be better to remain in the shadows for a little longer. "It's not the right time."

"How much longer do you honestly think you can hide behind that excuse before it backfires on you?"

* * *

><p><em><span>At Fangtasia<span>_

"Oh no you don't. Get back in that car and drive right home!"

"Well that's not the welcome I was hoping to get." I replied up at the very angry and worried face of Pam the second I got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me. I had caught sight of her when I pulled into the parking lot and she must have recognized Eric's car because I had barely put a foot out on the pavement before she had flashed over to me and began the yelling. "I thought you would be kind of thrilled to see me. You always have in the past."

"That's not the point, you crazy bitch." Pam snapped quietly under her breath to avoid being heard by the humans in line in front of the building as she grabbed me by the arm. "You haven't been out since you came back and the first time you venture out, you choose to do it alone. Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Gee Pam did something happen to put you in this fabulous mood?" I asked sarcastically, removing my arm from her grasp and rubbed it knowing I would have a bruise there in a few hours from her grip. "You seem to be on edge."

"You would be too if you just got a call from a frantic Eric wondering where the fuck you were." Pam snapped, her eyes narrowing darkly and I actually had to back up since it was an unnerving look. "He called here 10 minutes ago saying you were missing and asking if I had seen you. And I had to tell I didn't and that only freaked him out more."

"I didn't mean to freak him out."

"Well what do you think will happen when you just suddenly get up and leave the house without letting anyone know?"

"He was busy talking to Godric and I figured they wouldn't notice if I wasn't there for a while."

"Yea well, they both noticed and now they are going crazy looking for you." Pam shot back, shaking her head and I was sure that if I could read her thoughts then she would surely be saying I was a complete nutcase. "I have to call him and tell you're here or you have to turn around and drive home."

"No don't call him and don't make me go home. I left for a reason and I don't want to go back. At least not yet." I had reached out and grabbed Pam by the arm like she had done to me just moments ago. I was practically on groveling ground right now but I did not care because if it convinced Pam to not tell Eric where I was, then I would do it full blown. "Come on, I left without saying anything because I knew they would forbid me from going out alone and..."

"Of course they would forbid it. You were just resurrected a week ago and you haven't left the house since then until now." Pam exclaimed, her pretty face turning dark. "Do you really think that after everything that has happened this year that they would ever let you out of theirs sights for more then a few minutes? If anything they would have come with you if you wanted to leave the house."

"That's my point, they would have been hovering over me the entire time and I just can't take it anymore." I had to be honest about this at this stage because lying was not going to help my cause. I knew I had softened Pam somehow when she was the first person to see me after I came back to life and that changed things with us. So I knew that if I just said the right things,t hen she would melt and allow me to stay. "I needed a break and that's why I came to see the one person who wouldn't treat me like I was about to break apart."

"You're lucky I have such a soft spot for you or else I would never agree to it." Pam's twitching lips signified that she was pleased by what I had just said and her entire face softened before she spoke again. "One hour...I will give you one hour. And then you have to leave, because any longer then that will have Eric focusing on me and he will find out you're here."

"Thank you!" I nearly moved forward to hug her, which would have been a first but I managed to hold back and just look up at her gratefully. "You are the best right now."

"Yea, yea. Whatever." Pam rolled her eyes before I felt her fingers take me by the arm again and start to tug me towards the front door. "Just get inside before something happens because we're standing out in a dark parking lot. It would be just my luck if you got yourself attacked the first night you leave the house."

"Nothing is going to happen, so just relax." I told her as she lead me passed the line of humans waiting and into the bar. Even if it was only for an hour, it was going to be an hour without feeling trapped. And that was the best 60 minutes I could hope to get right now.

* * *

><p><em><span>Eric's house<span>_

"Damn it!" Eric growled, slamming down the phone on the table so hard that it broke off into two different pieces and went scattering across the top away from him just as his maker walked into the room looking worried and even that didn't stop Eric from repeating himself. "Damn it. Damn it all to hell."

"Oh lord, what happened?" Godric demanded, immediately on the defense as he dropped down in the chair across from Eric with a horrified look on his face. "Is it Allison? Is she..."

"She's fine. Or at least I think she is. I just got off the phone with Pam again and she said she searched the entire bar and Allison was no where to be found there." Eric recounted what his progeny had told him just seconds ago that had caused him to break the phone in frustration. Ever since they had discovered that Allison had left the house, they had been going crazy looking for her. They tried calling Sookie and Bill but neither had heard from her. They got in touch with that shifter and he hadn't seen or heard from her since the day he saw her. And then Eric thought she might have gone to the bar but after speaking with Pam, he realized she hadn't been there either and he was fresh out of options. He wanted to break something else because he was so furious. What was she thinking just running off like that? He looked up at Godric and he felt his eyes cloud over in darkness. "I swear to God, when she gets home I will kill her!"

"No you won't so don't ever talk like that. I know you're just worried but expressing your concern like this is not pleasant. She will be found and brought home. I doubt she has gone far." Godric said, his worry being masked by his tendency to remain calm above all else. "In fact, why don't you just do the obvious and open your bond to her? That way you will know where exactly she is."

"I can't believe I didn't think of that. I'll do it." Eric nearly wanted to slap himself for not jumping to that first hand but he held back because he didn't want to waste any more time in berating himself. That energy needed to be put towards reopening the bond he had with Allison and tracking her down. So he closed his eyes and concentrated, searching through his mind and body for that connection. He hadn't opened it since she had come back so it was going to take a while to catch on so he wasn't worried when it didn't come to him right away. But then the minutes wore on and still nothing happened and it was a horrifying idea hit him that his eyes snapped open again. "Fuck!"

"What is it?" Godric was instantly back to looking worried again. "Is she hurt? I can't feel her either but can you? What's going on?"

"I feel nothing. And not because she blocked it, but because its not there. There's no trace of it at all, like it never existed." Eric felt his vision become distorted as the realization of what this meant settled in on his and he felt the intense urge to explode but for some reason he did not lose it. He couldn't not when he had to make sense of it. "And now when I think about it, I haven't felt the bond at all since her return. But I never thought anything of it because I was always so in tune to her emotions."

"Oh dear god." Godric looked panicked for the briefest second. "I'm afraid this is something bad."

"What do you mean bad? Couldn't it have been a spell that carried over from her death or something?" Eric frowned, not use to seeing his maker looking so concerned and when that happened then something was up. He eyed his maker and asked. "What are you getting at?"

"Think about it. She was resurrected...she has a new life. She may have her old body back, but it's a newer version of it, if you can call it that." Godric wasn't even looking at him as he said this, seeming to be in his own world as he spoke. "If her body and blood is new, then none of the old things carried over after her death and resurrection, except her powers. Which means she is a clean slate again, untainted, never fed on and..."

"And unclaimed." Eric finished for him, feeling a shock go through him as he felt the full understanding hit him and he felt his fists curl up tightly. "Oh fuck."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Godric nodded, his own white hands turning into themselves while their eyes met. "And if she comes across other vampires and they can tell there's no hold on her, then they could lay claim to her."

"No fucking way. She is mine." Eric growled, jumping up from the table so quickly that the chair he was sitting in went crashing to the floor. "Over my dead body will anyone take her...I'll kill whoever tries to claim her."

* * *

><p><em><span>60 minutes later<span>_

"Now you go straight home or else I will personally follow you and kick your ass personally." Pam warned me as she pushed the car door shut after I climbed behind the wheel and leaned down by the open window. "Don't make me regret lying to Eric about you being here."

"Don't worry, he will never know that I persuaded you to not tell him the truth. You have my word." I told her, wishing I could send a smile her way because even though she had stuck to her promise and was kicking me out after an hour, it was an hour where I actually felt somewhat normal. And I think I even enjoyed myself which was a rare occurrence these days. It was nice to have a break from reality but now I had to head back and face the repercussions of my actions. I turned on the engine and looked up at her and said "Thanks for tonight, it was kind of helpful."

"Yea well, I will consider it a victory if you get home and Eric never finds out about my part in this." She told me, standing up and crossing her arms with a smirk. "Now get home or else."

"Your threats are so scary Pam." I shot back sarcastically but still I did what she said and started backing the car up before driving passed the long line winding around the building and headed for the road. I rolled the windows down so the cold breeze would catch my hair as I turned on to the highway and began driving away from Fangtasia.

I was going to do exactly what Pam had told me to do and I had every intention of going home, but because I was so unsure about what would be waiting for me when I got there, I decided to delay my return for a little bit and take a detour. I was just going to go for a little longer of a drive then I intended to and took a different road on my way back to Eric's house. There was no other cars in front of me or behind me so it was peaceful and calming, something I hadn't had a lot of since I was resurrected. I leaned my elbow on the door and twirled my flying hair around my fingers as I watched the straight and empty road stretch out in front of my eyes. There was something so hypnotizing about driving at this hour with no one else around that I found myself actually almost wanting to smile. Despite all the bad things that had happened, I still preferred the night over the day and this night was making me feel like my old self. But I still couldn't quite manage that first smile and just gave up, it would happen when it was suppose to and forcing it before it meant something was not good. So I just focused my eyes on the road and fell into a calm state.

I was only driving for another few minutes on the same road when I began to notice things I hadn't taken in when I first got here. I saw the tall grass on either side of the road and the same old flickering street lights that stretched as far down as I could see. It was such a jolt of remembrance that I actually pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the engine and just sat there. I knew where I was and I knew what I was remembering. This was the same road where I got into the car accident and where I had been forced to kill that werewolf, in one of the attacks the witches had sent to bring me down. I turned my head to look through the passenger side window and upon seeing the wind blow the grass back and forth, I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out on to the empty road with the sound of the door slamming filling the silence. I walked around the front of the car and made my way down the short ditch, not even sure why I wanted to be out here but for some reason I did and I stood there on the incline just staring at that field of tall grass wondering whatever became of the man I had killed.

Was the body ever found?

If it had been, then who found it?

Or was it still out there among the grass, decaying into nothingness like my body had?

I crossed my arms over myself when the wind picked up again and shivered hard as I looked from my spot. It was weird to think somewhere out in the grass on this empty highway there was a body of a werewolf I had killed. It still haunted me to think of how easily I had done it, even if it was in self defense. The act of killing anything or anyone was harsh and even if it was to keep myself alive at the time, I knew that was going to stay with me. It was my first kill and being a full blooded Faerie, there was a good chance I was always going to have enemies. My blood wasn't just attractive to vampires but also to werewolves and witches. I was very sought after in ways I didn't understand and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Just thinking about all the evil that wanted me was enough to make me turn around and walk back to my car, fully intending to go home to Eric and Godric. But I wasn't able to even get close because when I turned around, I found two figures leaning against the car.

Two figures that were so obviously vampires. Vampires with an agenda apparently.

"Would you look it this, a real life Faerie wandering around on the side of the road." The blonde one said with a heavily southern accent that got even heavier as his tone changed. "And I thought my nose was deceiving me."

"Trust me, there is no mistaken that smell. It's far too delicious." The brunette beside him piped up with an equally wide smirk on his face that chilled me to the bone when it accompanied an unwavering look. "I think we should play with her. She looks fun."

"I wouldn't try it, I ….I have powers." My voice shook almost as violently as my body did as I kept my eyes trailed on the both of them. Because the moment they moved, then I would have to react. "Back off and I won't have to hurt you."

"That's so cute, the Faerie thinks she can actually hurt us." The blonde vampire chuckled before he disappeared from view and I couldn't even whip around before I was grabbed from behind by two steel like hands that yanked me backwards against a hard chest, ripping my jacket off my body as easily as it had been paper. The blonde vampire seemed to get a laugh out of feeling me struggle as he asked. "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Go fuck yourself!" I shouted in response as he twisted my wrist in his hand but I refused to cry out in pain, I wouldn't sink that low. "Let me go."

"Can't do that. We said we were going to play and that's what we intend to do." The brunette vamp said as he too appeared in front of me and grabbed at my body roughly. "Shall we?"

"I think so." It was the last thing that was spoken before I felt two set of fangs sink into my flesh.

The pain was worse then I could imagine and that was even after remembering that I had been fed on before. But Eric had been gentle, even with the first time, even when he had fed on me out of anger. That was nothing compared to how much this hurt. I couldn't bring myself to even draw strength to use my powers, I couldn't even move. I was paralyzed by fear and pain and the hands that held me down. I felt the life slipping away from me as they hungrily drank from my neck and my wrist. They were rough and messy, two tell tale signs of newly turned vampires. But that didn't make me any less assured that I would make it home alive, not at the rate they were draining me at. I could feel my body going cold and it started to shake in a way that reminded me of the moments right before my death. The pain was there but so was the cold and the grip that death was beginning to take hold on me. I was slipping away again but I was still holding on, praying that something would happen to save me, but nothing did. And just when I thought it was all over and my vision was just starting to be dotted with black dots, I felt their fangs leave me skin as they dropped me to the ground and I could hear their shocked laughter.

"Wow, that was tastier then I thought." The brunette vampire said as I struggled to crawl away as I watched the way they were staring at me. "She must be full blooded Fae. I thought they were extinct."

"They were suppose to be, but I guess we found the exception. But you know what is even more thrilling then that?" The blonde one asked, licking my blood from his fingertips as he stepped towards me, knowing I was too weak at the moment to fight back. "You can taste it in her blood... she's unclaimed."

"No...no I am claimed. I belong to another vampire." I tried to sound convincing but something about the way he sounded so certain when he said I was unclaimed made me think that my resurrection had implications I wasn't even aware of. And if I did still have a bond to Eric or even Godric, then they would have found me by now. But I couldn't let my fear show or else I could be dead just like that. "I'm already taken."

"No you're not. If you were, then this so called vampire you talk about would be here and...I don't see another vampire around except for my friend over there." The blonde motioned to the other vamp before they started strolling towards me. "And a pretty little thing like yourself shouldn't be out in the world with no one to watch over her. Maybe we need to take care of that."

"I think that sounds reasonable. But which one of us claims her?" The brunette asked with a territorial look on his face. This was good, if they fought over who got to take me, then I could make a run for it. Or at least use my powers to get them further away and then get back to the car. "Actually it doesn't matter who claims her. We can still share."

"I think that is appropriate. But I'll do it, I am the more generous one" The other vamp nodded just as I backed up against the car with the tire digging into my spine only to watch the two walk towards me at an all too human pace, like they were drawing this out for pleasure. "You are..."

"She is mine!" A loud and commanding voice filled my ears and for a moment I thought my heart had stopped because I was sure the other had jumped the gun and claimed me before his friend could. But the voice belonged to neither one of them as they were both grabbed by the shoulder from behind and shoved away from me as easily as those two had grabbed me. I barely was able to turn my head to see them standing in the middle of the road before the turned on their heels and took off and out of sight. My heart stared pounding again as I turned back around and looked up into the face of my savior with apprehension. But instead of being afraid, I was suddenly filled with relief as the body kneeled down beside me and touched my cold cheek with his fingertips. "You can't seem to stay out of trouble can you?"

"Hello Louie..."

**A/N: sorry for the almost week between chapters but i had writter's block, but luckily it has passed and i am back with a vengeance...and now, so is Louie! i love writting this character and he is a major caracter in this fic from here on out...and in the very near future, i will finally reveal why he and godric cant get along..please review**


	12. It's you again

**Chapter 12 It's you again**

"Louie?" I asked in confirmation even though as I was looking up into the blue green eyes and saw the short blonde hair that told me exactly who it was, I still was in enough shock to have to ask. This night had shaken me up more then I was willing to admit. "I can't believe it's you that came to my rescue."

"The one and only." He replied with a genuine smile as he held his hand out to me and helped me to my feet, holding on to me when I moved too quickly and stumbled. His hands held me steady as our eyes met and I saw a look of concern pass through his eyes. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy from the blood loss." I explained, touching my fingers to my neck to where the fangs marks were still bleeding and shuddered at the pain I felt from the attack. But it could have been worse and I could have been in a lot more pain then I was right now. And if it wasn't for Louie swooping in to run off those other vampires, then I could have died. I looked up at the two thousand year old vampire, wishing I could will myself to smile as I spoke. "Thank you for what you did, for stepping in and claiming me when you did. You doing that saved my life."

"It's no big thing, it was just the logical thing to do. I couldn't just stand by and watch you get hurt..." Louie shrugged, his intense eyes looking over me in a very protective type of manner that was reminiscent of the way Godric would have looked at me. And it was because of that look that I was put at ease in the presence of a vampire I had only been around for a few hours at the time of our first meeting. "Besides, if I didn't do it, then any other vampire could have come along and done it if they hadn't. And at least I'm one of the good ones."

"I knew you were one of the goods ones that night I met you, when you refused to kill me even after I offered my blood to you." I pointed out, remembering that night in the moods when I had actually gone out to find death and instead came across the one other vampire besides Godric who would refuse the most tempting blood of all. It was a rare thing to find and even now when my life was so messed up, I actually found this to be a bright spot to be in the company of this handsome vampire again. "This night was my own fault for sneaking out without telling anyone."

"Can't argue with you there." Louie nodded with a cock of his head, the light from the street lamp hanging over us catching his hair and making it look blonder then ever. "And not to be nosy, but why would you put yourself at risk like this?"

"Honestly...I just needed to get away from all the tension in Eric's house." I told him, pulling my blood soaked hair back over my neck to shield my wounds. "But even more then that, I just wanted to feel alive again."

"I get that." He nodded, like he was speaking from personal experience and for all I knew he could be. I didn't really know him all that well despite the those kind of intense moments we shared in the woods that night. When you are at your lowest point and there is someone with you to witness it, it almost draws you to that person in a way you can't explain. So I figured that was why I felt a bond to him, but when he spoke again, I realized it went much deeper then that. "I get why you feel that way...it's because of the resurrection."

"What the..." I was more then taken aback by his statement because I had no idea that he even knew I had died, let alone been brought back. I looked at him with wide eyes, suspicious about how he knew. "How did you know that without being in contact with Godric? Because that's the only other way you could have known since we don't share a connection through any one else."

"Well I haven't spoken to Godric.." Louie's voice and face got dark as that name passed out of his mouth and it was obvious that even in my death, those two hadn't closed the mile wide gap between them. "This is going to sound strange, but I was standing at the edge of the cemetery when your funeral was going on."

"You were there?" If possible, my mouth fell open even wider at this confession. Louie and I barely knew each other and yet he was there the night I was laid to rest. That should have creeped me out, but it didn't. "Why?"

"I always felt a pull to the Fae population and I had figured out about your death on one of my nightly strolls when I overheard it in passing and I wanted to observe it from afar." Louie didn't bother holding anything back and I actually appreciated that kind of honesty, it was refreshing. Especially now when things were so different. "I don't even really know why I showed up, but deep down I had this nagging feeling that you would somehow come back. So I kept an eye on the area and one night I saw your grave and I just knew."

"I think you're the first one to admit something like that." I crossed my arms over myself as the wind picked up and sent goosebumps rising up across my skin. "So then admit something else. How did you know where to find me tonight?"

"I'm very sensitive to the smell of Faeries and I picked up your scent not that long ago and I simply tracked you down." He smirked, the expression making him appear more handsome and not in an arrogant way. I felt a calmness around him. "And it appears I did it just in time since you have a knack for attracting trouble."

"Well, thank you for what you did." I was once again hit with the urge to smile but it just did not happen and I briefly wondered if it ever would. "But I should be getting home."

"If it's not too forward, I would like to accompany you..." Louie leaned down and swiped the car keys from what was left of my torn jacket and nodded to the car. "I have a feeling that I will need to be explaining my actions since it will be known you were just claimed and I don't want to incite fury in your viking."

"Eric will be furious either way..." I sighed, knowing that by now he and Godric were probably going crazy trying to track me down and my previous bond to Eric must not have carried over from before my death since Louie was able to claim me. And they would be furious when they learned the details, so maybe Louie should come with me. "Alright, you can come with me."

"It will be for the best." Louie nodded, clutching the keys in his hand while opening the passenger side door and helped me in even though I didn't need it. "Although, I am not looking forward to meeting up with those two."

"Yea...you and me both."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Oh shit, this is not good at all. They're both outside." I groaned, looking through the windshield as Louie drove Eric's car down the driveway and spotted both maker and progeny standing on the front porch of the house with their arms crossed like they had been waiting for our arrival since we had left. Louie brought the car to a stop about 20 feet away and we just sat there in silence for a minute while the both of them glared at the two of us. "I think, they're pissed."

"I don't think it's just a matter of consideration. I think it's very very real." Louie answered back, putting the car in park and shutting off the engine while keeping his eyes straight ahead. "And I think any longer spent sitting here will just make things worse."

"I hate to agree but I think you're right." I cringed, my hand paused on the door handle. As soon as I stepped out, the yelling would start and I didn't want to listen to it. But then again, as I told Louie, this night was my fault so I deserved what I had coming to me. And it was with that thought that I opened the door and climbed out just as they both started making their way over to me. I instantly held up my hands defensively. "Ok, I know you're mad but let me..."

"How many times do I have to ask you this? But are you fucking insane?"

"...sneaking out without telling one of us? That's the definition of insanity."

"Especially after everything that has happened this year...you should have know that when we found out you were gone, that chaos would erupt...how could you do this?"

"Are you trying to make things more difficult then they already are?"

"Hey, give her a break already. You two are like freaking vultures." Louie piped up from the other side of the car, gaining the attention of Godric which he proceeded to ignore and then sent a frown at Eric who hadn't taken his eyes off me. "She was just trying to have some fun."

"You..." Godric's eyes were practically staring a hole through Louie and for the first time, I was actually afraid of my best friend. "What are you doing with her?"

"She's been fed on." Eric suddenly yelled as he grabbed my chin and yanked my head to the side to look down at my bleeding neck before holding up my wrist and he frowned. "And she's been claimed, I can smell it on her. Who did it?"

"That would be me." Louie admitted with no hesitation, giving Eric barely enough time to shove me away from him before the former viking dove across the hood of the car and took Louie down in a flash. Louie was twice Eric's age and had no obvious problem of overpowering him as easily as Godric would have. But that didn't stop Eric from charging at him again in a tackle maneuver while I stood off the side by Godric and watched these two roll around in the dirt like children.

"Eric! As your maker I command you to step away right now." Godric snapped, his words having an iron grip on Eric as the tallest vampire was yanked away by an invisible force that was Godric's authority and separated him from Louie who stood up with no visible damage. Godric took a moment to send a frown at Eric and reprimand him for what he just did. "I don't care what happened, do not start a brawl right now."

"Thank yo..." Louie was cut off again, only this time by Godric who dove at him and took Eric's place in beating on Louie. And with those two being the same age, it was a more even fight as their strengths matched up more. I had never really seen Godric attack any one without being provoked, so to see him like this was a little unnerving. I thought he would get one hit in and then that would be it. But then they both got to their feet and began punching each other in the face with no sign of stopping.

"For God's sakes." I grew frustrated to the point that I felt a familiar warmth spread through my fingers and I didn't second guess my actions before I threw my hands out in front of me just as the light burst out of my fingertips. I didn't think twice either when I sent the beams at the two quarreling vampires in front of me and when it hit them, the force was enough to not only break them apart but to also put a good amount of distance between them before I dropped my arms down to my sides. As soon as the light disappeared, I almost shrank back as the intensity of using my powers for the first time since breaking out of my coffin fell on my and I wanted to turn away now that I had three vampires staring at me. But first I had to make things clear so no one tried to kill each other. "I left the house for a break and I was on the side of the road when I was attacked and fed on by two newborn vampires."

"How did you know they were newborns?" Eric's attention was back on me now and once again he was eying my neck and wrist like he had the first time.

"Because they did this..." I turned my head to the side so they all could see the messy wounds that had been put there. "They didn't feed properly, a sure fire sign of a newborn. But Louie wasn't the one who hurt me. He saved me."

"Yea, claiming you was part of the saving I'm sure." Eric's voice was filled with sarcasm, now frowning at Louie and for the briefest of seconds, I saw jealousy pass over his face. "She was mine."

"I have no intention of keeping her as mine. I only did it because if those vampires had claimed her, then you would never see her again because they would never allow her to return to you." Louie spat out, his hands turning to fists at his sides as he and Eric stared down each other. "So I stepped in and claimed her to keep her from harm. But I don't plan on holding on to her, I still had every intention of releasing her back to you."

"Hmmm..." Eric visibly calmed down at these words and that in turn made me calm down since I knew there wouldn't be another fight about to break out but Eric being the vampire that he was, couldn't let this go without one more jab. "Because every vampire would let the last known full blooded Faerie slip away after they claimed her."

"You know nothing..." Louie's face got dark at that very moment for a reason I knew nothing about and for the first time since I knew him, he looked dangerous. As if Eric's statement about Faeries unleashed something deep inside of him that he had kept locked away. I saw his eyes flicker at me before he addressed Eric again. "She's a beautiful person inside and out, but she's not the Faerie I want."

"Eric, stand down..." Godric jumped back into the conversation, putting himself between Louie and Eric as if to ward off any further altercation between the two. He nodded towards me before saying. "Take Allison inside and heal her. We will discuss everything later."

Eric didn't react right away and just stood there for a full 2 minutes, looking like a mixture of fury and pure jealousy, like Louie saving me meant more then it actually did. But then he moved across the grass to where I stood and before I could say a word, he had scooped me up in his arms and we shot towards the front door, with neither of us saying a word as we disappeared inside.

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"So..."

"Yea...Soo."

This was awkward, just like Godric always knew it would be when they came into contact again. They spent so much time trying to avoid being in the same space as the other that it created this brick wall of tension whenever their paths did cross. But that had always been when Godric had reached out to him for help and now they were brought together for an entirely different reason, a reason that meant a lot more now that Allison bad been brought back. As much as Godric wished that he didn't have to be standing here, staring at his old friend in such an uncomfortable silence, he was glad for it. Because if it hadn't been for Louie, they could have lost Allison for a second time, so the past had to be put aside for the moment to focus on what was done for their future.

"Look..." Godric broke the silence first, knowing well enough that Louie wouldn't be the one to do it. He dared to look the other vampire in the eye, seeing the same blankness there that had been present for a thousand years, except for the rare seconds tonight when he was looking at Allie. In those moments, Louie was almost like his old self again. "I just want to say thank you for what you did. Allison means a lot to all of us and I'm grateful you saved her life."

"I may not know her that well, but I do know her. Even in those few and moments we shared, it was enough to forge a connection. And I couldn't stand back and let her die, not when I could do something to save her." Louie shrugged, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets as his eyes squinted like he was visiting a far away place in his head. "I do not want to see another Faerie I know die before her time. I do not want a repeat of the past."

"Neither do I.." Godric pressed his lips together as he was suddenly hit with a memory he so often tried to forget he even had. He felt the old stab of pain that went through his chest that he knew Louie was feeling a hundred times worse then he was. And although Godric's pain was tough enough to deal with, he knew Louie was dealing even more painful memories then him. "I see it still haunts you."

"Not nearly as much as I know it haunts you." Louie shot back, his eyes narrowed into slits, looking very much like the former vampire Godric use to know, back when they actually were friends.

"I suppose I deserve that..." Godric nodded, not going to disagree that he deserved the look of disgust Louie was sending at him. But that had been a long time ago and perhaps with the way they had been reunited tonight, it could means something. "We've been thrown together more this year then at any other time in the last thousand years...don't you think it's about time we work through this distance between us?"

"No amount of time will ever be enough to work through our dirty history. It's too soiled to be fixed." Louie was back to looking at him with a blank expression. "And you know that. It's why we have barely spoken in the last millennium."

"I get that and I respect that. I really do." Godric wished more then anything that this conversation would go the way he wanted. In his perfect world, they would sit down and talk about what happened and try to reclaim the closeness they had shared before that horrible night. He looked at Louie and almost pleaded as he said. "But we were friends at one point."

"The key phrase being at one point. That point is over." Louie shook his head, a brief flash of pain taking over his face and replacing the blankness. "Our friendship is dead. It died the night Helen died. She's not coming back and neither is our friendship."

Louie then took off in flash back down the driveway, leaving only a small trail of dust behind to show he had ever been there. Godric felt a pull to go after him, wanting to desperately change things with them. He had experienced just recently what it was like to lose someone who meant something to you and he didn't want that to keep on being the same situation with Louie. Not when he could do something about it. But tonight was not the night that it was going to happen. The universe was not siding with him right now and he could only just watch the trail of dust settle back down on the ground and stare at the spot where his former friend use to be and wonder whether it would ever change. And if it did, what would be the thing that did it?

* * *

><p><em><span>Upstairs<span>_

Neither of us had said a word for the past ten minutes since Eric had brought be inside the house and up to the second floor, only to deposit me on the bed in our room before standing with his back to the wall while he stared at me like he wanted to say something but he never did. I sat on the edge of mattress, too anxious to move off it towards him, knowing even the slightest movement could send him into a rage. He hadn't healed my wounds like Godric had told him too and I didn't ask him to give me blood. I knew I didn't quite deserve it after skipping out of the house without any kind of notice. And even though I knew that he was in the right to be in this state of mind, it still made me nervous to watch him just look at me without making a noise. So I tried to summon up any courage I had to break the tension between us.

"Um ….I just wanted to know..." I began slowly, trying out each word cautiously to see how he would respond to it and no noise was met on his end so I dared to look up at his guarded face. "Are you still mad?"

Oh boy was that ever the wrong thing to say. Because as soon as that question left my mouth, it was like releasing the flood gates of hell and the air was no longer silent as Eric let loose his aggression on me. And his words cut right through the fragile wall I had built up around me.

"That is a stupid question. Of course I'm still mad. I'm fucking furious." Eric growled, crossing the room at a human pace, but with his long legs, he still reached me quickly and grabbed my arms before I was able to crawl away. His hands wrapped around my upper arms and pulled me to my feet in a flash before his voice starting cutting through me again. "Yea, I'm so extremely mad that you have no idea how much restraint I'm using right now so I won't hurt you. But Jesus Christ, I hate you."

"Ummm..." I couldn't come up with anything to say to this, but even if I wasn't afraid of him right now, I still don't think I would have anything to say.

"I hate you for always making me worry. Why do you do this to me?" He demanded, his strong grip shaking me so hard that my teeth rattled but I didn't try and fight back since I knew I deserved his wrath. "You have like this sick desire to always do something that will make me worry for your life. I hate you for never thinking of anyone but yourself. You are so damn selfish."

"It's not my intention to worry you." It really wasn't. When I sneak out behind his back, I never actually do it with the idea to make him worry for me. But then again, that just proved his other point that I didn't think. "Eric..."

"I hate you for being so damn alluring that you attract trouble. Everything about you is special and that makes every god damn supernatural thing want a piece of you. And I fucking hate it. You belong to me and I am never willing to share you." Eric's blue eyes bored down into my green ones, his fingers hanging on to me so tightly that I could feel the blood pounding rapidly through my veins. "Stop attracting trouble."

"I don't go looking for..."

"You know what else I hate?" He asked, his pale forehead wrinkling as his rage seemed to boil over and get more hot the longer he had control of the situation. "I hate you for dying and leaving me alone those two months. Yea I said it and I have been wanting to say it since you came back. I hate you for dying."

"Please don't go there..."

"But I mostly fucking hate you for making me feel more human than I ever have before. I hate it as much as I hate you right now." Eric had thrown me backwards now onto the bed, my back barely making contact before his face was o over mine. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me after you died? I spent a thousand years trying not to feel and then you come along a force yourself into my life. And then you have the nerve to die on me after making me love you. I really hate you for making me love you."

I should have cried right them and there. I was suppose to be bawling and feeling so depressed and saddened by his cruel words that I was struggling to get away from him. But I wasn't, I just laid there looking up into his eyes like I was staring into those blue orbs for the first time. And then I did feel my vision started to blur over in un-shed tears, but they weren't for the reason people might have thought. Still, Eric caught sight of them and his face changed considerably as it always did when he saw me cry. He went to move off of me but I grabbed his face between my hands and shook my head to make him not want to leave.

"They're not sad tears, they're happy ones. I know that sounds weird but you know why I'm crying from happiness?" I felt a jolt go through me as I kept my palms flat against his cold cheeks and kept our eyes locked while the tears ran down the side of my face. "Because for the first time since I was resurrected, you spoke to me like you use to and not like I was a china doll. You reacted to me like I was my old self and not someone that needs to be tip toed around. You were real with me."

"Yea, well..." Eric's voice trailed off just as I felt the tiniest of smiles spread across my lips for the first time. Eric knew the significance of it too because his face softened as it had the night I came back to him and he went back to just staring at me like I was the most interesting thing in the world to him. But it didn't last long before the frown reappeared, he wasn't relenting. "I don't care...I'm still pissed off at you."

"Well, you piss me off all the time, so I think this is a fair compromise." I felt myself lips curl into the first of many smirks I knew I would start to have as I ran my hand up to the back of his neck and then did something neither of us was expecting. I leaned up and pressed my lips against his, sharing the first kiss between us since before my death. At first he resisted, his lips remaining frozen on mine and for a second I thought I had crossed a line and that things had truly changed between us. But then I felt his body come crashing down on mine, nearly taking my breath away by the impact but I was too distracted when I felt his mouth starting to move against mine. He took control, forcing open my lips wide to dive his tongue into my mouth, causing me to groan at the familiar pleasure I felt from sharing this kind of passionate kiss with him again. It was like our bodies were slowly remembering the heat we use to have and strong spark was growing as we both hungrily fought for power. His hands were everywhere, rubbing across my cheekbones, stroking my hair, caressing the skin above the waist band of my jeans from where my tank top had ridden up. For the first time since I had come home, I felt the true intensity of my attraction to Eric come back to me and I was just starting to reach for the hem of his shirt when he pulled away from me. I barely felt my mouth fall open in shock. "What? Don't you want me?"

"You need to heal first. And then we play." His face was still guarded but his eyes and lips told a different story and I felt a wave of relief come over me wen I realized he still felt the same for me. I watched as he brought his wrist to his mouth before a loud crunch filled my ears and he held his arm out to me. "Drink."

I gladly sat up and pulled his now bleeding arm to my lips, sucking at wound as quickly as I could so I could close my own open cuts and get back to kissing him. Drinking his blood and feeling his life force enter and mix with mine was just as intense as it had been the first ever time we shared blood. And it wouldn't take much to heal my slight injuries but I had to take more blood just to replenish the amount I lost in the attack. I could feel Eric's other hand stroking my hair as I drank from him and once every few seconds I could hear the quietest of a whisper of a moan come from his mouth and it reminded me how much pleasure he got from feeling me drink from him. I had forgotten that fact but I was remembering it now as my wounds closed and I was feeling our previous blood bond being reforged stronger then before. I pulled away a second later and dropped his hand, watching as the fang marks healed before my eyes and then our eyes met again, this time his entire face had softened.

"One more thing..." He pressed a finger to my mouth when I opened it say something but I instantly feel silent when he did that. He removed his hands and smirked down at me. "You...are...mine."

I started to grin as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine again, intending to pick up right where we left off. But instead of feeling pleasure, I felt a crackle of electricity. Only it wasn't coming from deep inside me, it was coming from my head.

_She has no idea how badly I have wanted her like this since she came back. And finally I get to have her..._

I shrank back deep into the mattress in horror. I turned my face away from him, placing my hands on his chest and pushed him away. I didn't have the physical strength to actually do it, but he got what I was trying to do and moved off me. The instant his weight lifted, I slapped my hands over my mouth and moved backwards away from him, watching as he looked at me in confusion. I felt my heart pounding insanely fast inside of me as my blood pulsating through my veins and filling my ears with its sound. I almost felt like I couldn't breathe as I sat there while my hands dropped into my lap and I stared at the bed with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?" Eric went to move towards me but I automatically shook my head rapidly, freezing him in place with his lips parted in befuddlement. "Talk to me, you're panicking. I can feel it through our bond."

I looked at him with those same wide eyes, wondering how the hell it was possible. And I almost thought that maybe I had been mistaken and it was a temporary hallucination. But with the racing of my heart and the inability to breath properly, I knew I hadn't made it up. It was real, more real then I wanted to admit to but I would have no choice since I had so suddenly pushed the man I loved away from me. I looked up at Eric's expectant face and with a shaky voice, I answered him.

"I...i think I just read your thoughts."

**A/N: OOOOO shocker times are back again! this one has been brewing for a while.. i tend to come up with these ideas like 2 fics in advance and im glad i got to this one...and it will all be explained in the next chapter..please review and maybe i will jump into writting the next chapter**


	13. When that freak is you

**Chapter 13 When that freak is you**

"What did you just say?" Eric was still standing away from me when he said this with the same shocked look that I was sure was on my face. His blue eyes were littered with confusion and disbelief and they moved up and down over my body as if trying to seek out some kind of answer. "Did you just say what I thought you said? You read my mind?"

"Yes." I barely managed to say, still in my shocked position on the bed with my hands balled into fists at my sides as my shoulders shook from the realization of what I was experiencing. "I heard your thoughts speaking to me..."

"No, no you didn't. It's impossible." Eric stated, shaking his head so rapidly that it became a blur. I wished what he was saying was true, because I did not want this new ability. I did not want to be more of a freak then I already was. And hearing the thoughts of vampires certainly made me a freak. Especially since it had never been done before. Eric's movements stopped and he looked at me with a frown. "You have to be mistaken. You have to be wrong."

"I'm not wrong Eric, I know what I heard and as much as I wish it weren't real, I know it is." I got off the bed, standing on the other side of the room from him as I tried to make sense of this but I couldn't. I didn't have answers. I couldn't explain this away. But if this was just a hallucination, then my body wouldn't be reacting in the way it was. I looked up to meet Eric's eyes, knowing I would have to convince him so I could have someone to lean on through this. "Think of something and I'll repeat it back to you."

"What?" He asked, looking taken aback by my order as he wasn't use to me telling him to do something. But this wasn't the time to analyze it. "You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy. This is for real and I need you to believe me." I practically pleaded, moving around the edge of the bed towards him. I was scared at this point. This sudden power had taken me completely by surprise and I didn't know what to make of it. I needed Eric to help me with this. I just reached his side of the room when I was frozen in place by a tidal wave of words...

_"...insane, pure insanity..she is out of her mind. No Faerie can read vampire minds, so what the hell makes her think she just read my mind.."_

"No Faerie can read vampire minds, so what the hell makes her think she just read my mind." I repeated Eric's thoughts as they came at me and sent them back at him, watching as what I echoed word for word hit him and the realization rose up in his eyes and if there was any blood in his face, then it would be gone right now. I didn't even have to keep probing his mind to know that he believed me, it was all over his face and he looked so thrown that it crushed me to see him like this. But what hurt me even more was what he did next. I had started to move toward him and at the same time, he began to back away from me. Almost like it was out of fear. I paused, a frown coming over my face at this sudden rejection. Eric had never backed away from me like this before and to see him doing it now sent a jolt through me like I had never felt. "Eric don't do that..."

I went to take a step to him, intending to reach out for him, but he was gone from the room before I could take a second step. I didn't even allow myself a moment to feel wounded by this and I simply shot out the door after him. I had barely gotten halfway down the stairs before I saw the front door opening and my heart leapt, thinking it was Eric coming back. But it was Godric instead who came through the door, shutting it behind him with a thud just as I reached the tile and scurried over to him. I was about to open my mouth to blurt out what just happened, but he beat me to it and spoke first.

"Do you mind explaining why my progeny just went tearing out of here in a frenzy?" Godric demanded, his normally calm eyes clouding over at the thought of his child being in any kind of distress. I came to a stop a few feet away, frozen by his heavy stare while he cocked his head to the side. "Eric rushed by me just now looking absolutely horrified and I want to know why. What the hell just happened?"

"This is going to sound crazy and not possible, so just keep that in mind when I tell you this." I began, not seeing the point in uttering small talk when he so clearly was looking for answer to something he thought I did to Eric. I was scared of his reaction, knowing it wasn't going to be met with much enthusiasm. "But Eric gave me his blood to heal my wounds and then...I was reading his mind and then he bolted."

"You're right, that's not possible." Godric reacted in pretty much the same way Eric did, looking at me with doubt all over his face like he too thought I was making it up and hallucinating. This was ridiculous, two negative reactions in a row and from the two people who should have been on my side. Godric had his eyes closed like he was thinking hard and swaying back and forth in his place, giving me a chance to reach out and get his attention. My hand had barely closed over his wrist when his eyes snapped open. "What are you..."

"There is something wrong with her, something dark is happening to make her think she can read the minds of vampires." My voice wavered as I voiced everything that Godric was now thinking from the second my skin came into contact with his and watched as the truth dawned on him as quickly as it had with Eric. His entire face was twisted in confusion, wondering how this could be. "Godric, please help me."

"I...I can't do that. I don't know how." He told me, using his hand to gently pull my fingers off his arm as he stepped away with a frown. This time I did feel the flood of hurt hit me from watching someone else I cared about move away like I was a threat. Godric looked over his shoulder towards the door before saying. "I'm sorry. But I have to go after Eric."

And he too was gone, leaving me to wonder what the hell was wrong with me. Obviously something was wrong if I could now read vampire thoughts. It hadn't been possible yesterday and tonight it was. How could that be? It couldn't just be a new power that appeared without a reason behind it. Something had to be seriously wrong if I could do this. No other Faerie, including Sookie could do what I just did. It had never been a possibility in the history of the Faerie race and yet it looked like I was the exception to that rule and I didn't know how. I had no answers. No one did. But then it hit me that there might be one person above all others who might know what was going on. And a conversation I had with him was coming back to me now.

_"Why did Godric go to you for help?"_

_"Because I know more about the Faeries then any other vampire alive today."_

Louie.

I realized just now that if anyone could possibly have answers then it would be him. He knew why I had been able to have visions. He had known why the witches were after me. And he had put me on a path to a plan that would mean I wouldn't have had to die at the time. He knew things and maybe he knew the answer to this. And whether he did or not, I had to at least try. So I grabbed my jacket and tore out of the house, intending to take to the woods to seek out the vampire who might be the key to understanding this strange turn of events.

* * *

><p><em><span>25 minutes later<span>_

"This is unheard of."

"She is more powerful then any of us ever thought."

"How can she read our minds? It's never been done before."

"Why is this happening?"

"Eric I think it is time you stop pacing and you sit down so we can talk about this." Godric said gently to the rapidly moving figure in front of him as it whipped back and forth across the office with no sign of stopping or even easing up. When his statement fell on deaf ears, Godric just sighed and sat back, knowing that Eric would eventually calm down in time.

He didn't blame the viking one little bit for reacting the way he had and running out of the house as Godric had did exactly the same thing. Of course they would do that, they had just been informed that theirs minds which had previously been off limits were now open to one Faerie when that had never been possible before in the history of either race. So he had done what his instincts told him to do and he ran out into the night. He had tracked Eric back to Fangtasia where Pam had informed him that Eric had locked himself inside his office and yelled at anyone who tried to disturb him. Godric, being Eric's maker, commanded his child to let him in which Eric did do but not with out a frown and a death glare. It didn't faze Godric in the slightest. But what did faze him was the amount of emotion coming from Eric the longer he paced. The disbelief, the shock, the anger, the fear. It was an overload of something neither of them had been prepared to deal with.

"Eric please just calm down." Godric begged of his child, seeing no improvement in his movements and knew he had to share his own experience with Eric in order to let him know he wasn't alone. "Damn it Eric, you are not the only one who saw the display of Allie's new power. I saw it too."

"You did?" Eric's attention was caught by this and he finally came to a stop near his desk, his arm frozen in mid air like he was prepared to grab something to destroy it. But instead his arms dropped down and his shoulders actually lowered like they had sunk in relief. But then his face turned dark and he whipped around in fury only to demand. "How is this possible?"

"I have no idea, that is the god honest truth." Godric admitted with a grimace, hating that he couldn't give his progeny a straight answer. He normally had a solution to anything his child asked of him but this was not one of them and it unnerved to not have knowledge of this development. He looked at Eric from his spot on the couch against the wall and said. "I don't know how this came to be. Faeries have never been known to ever read vampire minds."

"Until now." Eric growled furiously, throwing himself down on a nearby chair so hard that the piece of furniture splintered slightly. He leaned over so his arms were resting on his knees and glared at the carpet. "I don't like it, in fact I fucking hate it. I don't want her to hear what I'm thinking or remembering. I don't want her to know what's in my past and I certainly don't want her to know what I've done."

"You are not alone in that my son, I feel the same way you do." Godric nodded in understanding, sharing the same fears that Eric did about Allison now being able to read their minds if she chose to. There were certain things in his past that he kept in the farthest and darkest corner of his mind and he had always found relief in that because unless he willingly spoke about it, then it could never be known to anyone. But with Allison able to access those thoughts, he feared for what she would find out about him. And that was more terrifying then anything he had ever encountered in his lifetime. Despite the shock this night had brought, Allison still meant a lot to them and he certainly didn't want to drive her away by what she may discover in his mind. "But Eric, if she can do this, then there is nothing we can do about it except by blocking our minds from her when we don't wish to divulge things about ourselves."

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Eric groaned, dropping his head into his hands so his face was hidden from view. "I hate this shit...I fucking hate surprises."

"You and me both, my son." Godric actually chuckled at this, finding some humor in this as he got up and went over to Eric to pat his shoulder. "Do not fret my child...we will find answers to this new mystery."

* * *

><p><em><span>In the woods<span>_

"Ok, maybe this was a bad idea." I said out loud to myself as I paused for the first time since leaving the house and looked around with my flashlight clutched in my hand at the darkened woods surrounding me and sighed. I was alone as I had been for the past 20 minutes, with no sign of Louie coming in any direction and I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid. Of course it wasn't going to be as easy as walking into the woods and he would magically just be there waiting for me. But in my mind at the time, it was that easy. When I knew he could possibly have answers for me, I just was hit with this feeling that if I went to the woods then he would somehow find me. And as usual, the universe was hating me and I had been stumbling around for close to a half hour with nothing to show for it. I hadn't even come across any other creature and was about to give up and admit defeat when I heard the snap of twigs coming from behind me and I jumped up quickly, my heart pounding fearfully as I turned my flashlight on what was making the sound. But when the beam caught the face of the person, my arm dropped in relief. "Hello Louie."

"We seem to be running into each other a lot these days." The blonde haired vampire said with a smirk as he walked out from behind the tree he had been behind and came into the clearing I was standing in, looking down at me with a playfulness in his eyes. "You just can't stop with the wandering off can you?"

"Not when I have a mission in mind." I shook my head, turning off the flashlight since we were standing in a spot where moonlight was shinning down on us and I could clearly see his face. " I need your help. It's kind of important."

"Important enough to have you stalk me in the middle of the woods. I'm intrigued." Louie nodded with a bright smile, looking more alive then most vampires I had ever met including Godric and Bill. I felt like I was in the presence of a friend which was a good thing since I would have to be near him for a while to get what I wanted. Louie met my eyes and asked "So tell me, what exactly do you need me for?"

"I need answers." I said quickly, crossing my arms when the wind picked up and chilled me to the bone. "You're the only one I thought to go to for this. I thought you could make sense of it for me."

"Make sense of what?"

"Of why I can suddenly read vampire minds." I blurted out, watching as his face turned to surprise in the moonlight and I wondered if he was going to react the same way Eric and Godric had. I had never had anyone run away from me before and when two vampire did it in one night, I knew I had to be messed up. Vampire never run from anything but yet they ran from me and I was sure Louie would be no different. I looked up at his shocked face, asking in what I knew was a pathetic voice. "Can you help me? Godric said you knew the most about the Fae."

"He's right about that." Louie nodded smugly but there was still a flash of anger that passed through his eyes the moment Godric was brought up and I wondered even more what had happened between these two. "Ok, I'll help you."

"Oh good, because I don't know who else to go to about this." I was sure my face showed the reflection of the relief I was feeling right now. It wasn't just to the fact that he had agreed to help me, it was more to the fact that he was still standing here even after telling him that I could do something that had never been thought of as possible. "It kind of just happened and I am still kind of in shock."

"I'm with you on that one." Louie agreed with his hands coming out of his pocket to brush his hair off his forehead when the wind push it over. "Alright, if I'm going to help you then we can't do it out here, not in the open where anything can come across us and over hear or attack. I'll take you some place safe."

"I still don't know you that well and I shouldn't agree to letting you take me somewhere I don't know, but I did seek you out, so I'm in." I told him, putting the small flashlight in my back pocket and tucked my hair behind me ears. "So where are you taking me?"

"My home." He answered simply, a small smile spreading across his lips and putting me at ease as we stood there only a foot apart staring at each other. I should have been afraid of him or at least cautious enough to not be agreeing to go with him. But just like the first night I ever met him, I felt like he was someone I could trust and I couldn't quite explain why. But then again I couldn't explain why I was friends with Godric or how I had fallen in love with Eric. Some things just couldn't be explained. So when Louie held his arm out to me, I took it without question and watched him smile. "Don't worry, I'm a gentleman."

"Somehow I don't doubt that."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back home<span>_

_"She's not here."_

_"What do you mean she's not here?"_

_"Exactly what I just said, she is not in the house. I checked upstairs, I checked down here and even in the basement. She's not on the property at all."_

_"She skipped out on us again...WHAT THE FUCK?"_

"Eric, must you curse every time something doesn't go your way?" Godric asked him as the two vampires met up in the living room of Eric's house and stood in near silence after it was made known that Allison had left again without notice. Between the two of them, it hadn't taken long to comb over every inch of the place only to come up short. And that did not sit well with Eric at all. "She will turn up, she always..."

"This is your fault!" Eric snapped, whirling around on his heels to glare at his maker. "You were in the house when I left and it's your fault for leaving her alone. Of course she is going to run off."

"Calm yourself Eric, I will not take the blame for this." Godric yelled back, appearing with a flash in front of him and shoved his shoulder roughly. "I was too shocked by her new power to think straight. So don't you dare blame me for this."

"Then who am I suppose to blame?" Eric growled, feeling a surge of anger go through him as he looked at the shorter vampire even though the fury wasn't directed at his maker. It was to Allison, who just over an hour ago he had yelled at for not thinking and for making him worry. And here she was doing exactly the same thing. "Tell me who is to blame for this."

"Well, Allison is the one who ran off so she is at fault, but perhaps neither of us should have run away from her like we did. Then she may not have felt the need to also run. Did you ever think about that?" Godric hissed, sounding like animal stuck in a human body and his eyes reflected the same thing. "We all made a mistake tonight but casting the blame on one person will not help us."

"I did not do anything..." Eric would have gone on to yell more if it hadn't been for the buzzing in his pocket that alerted him that he had an incoming call. He sent a glare at Godric as he pulled the phone out, and one glance at the screen made the near fight vanish when he pressed the phone to his ear. "Allison Stackhouse, what the fuck..."

"Don't start Eric, I mean it." Allison cut him off, sounding upset and angrier then she had since before her death, which was enough of a shock to make him fall silent when she continued. "I'm only calling to let you..."

"I can't believe you ran off again. You have to be more messed up then I thought." Eric yelled back, this time being the one to interrupt and he turned away from Godric to face the wall as he spoke to her. Not that it mattered since his maker remained in the room, but he couldn't yell at Allison like he wanted to if his maker was staring him straight in the eye. "Get home right now or else I will find you myself and drag you back kicking and screaming."

"Wow, that's such a gentle way to speak to the woman you love." She replied sarcastically, her voice tinged with unleashed anger that he could feel through their bond. It was more emotion that he had felt from her in a while. "Well good luck with that because I've already blocked off my bond to you. I don't need you charging in when I'm trying to find answers."

"Wait what.." Eric barely had a moment to utter those words before he felt a flicker and then any connection he felt to her was gone and blocked off. He felt a wave of pure fury rise up in him,threatening to take over. He was beyond pissed now. "Get your ass home or else there will be serious consequences."

"Eric, I love you and I just wanted to let you know I was ok, so you didn't have to worry about me." Allie said with a sigh and for the briefest of seconds, their bond reopened and he could feel that she was remorseful and she did mean what she said. But then it was closed again as she spoke. "I'll be home in a few hours. Good bye."

"Oh no you..." But she had already hung up before Eric could even finish that sentence and he was left with a dial tone in his ear. Eric stared at the phone down in his hand for a minute before his fingers curled tightly over it, easily crushing the plastic and breaking the phone in multiple pieces while Godric watched in silence. Eric angrily threw the remains away and cocked his head to the side and spat out. "I hate that bitch...she drives me insane."

* * *

><p><em><span>2 minutes later<span>_

I stared at my phone for a minute, trying to imagine the look on Eric's face at that very moment. I didn't dare open up my bond to him to see how he was feeling because then I was risking him finding out where I was and I couldn't have that. Not right now. But I knew him so well at this point, that on a night where I had already ran off once, he was probably very near the edge of his anger and that was a very scary place to be. And it would be for the best if we weren't around each other just yet. He was angry, I was upset and combing us together was going to make for a fight that did not need to happen. Things were already crazy enough without adding in the tension that was sure to come of my second absence. I still couldn't help but feel bad about leaving again because I knew it could potentially make things worse. But I never would have disappeared if both Eric and Godric hadn't run away from me first. That had awoken feelings of neglect and abandonment in me and now all I could do is follow my instincts without questioning them.

And that had lead me here to Louie's place, a small house set deep into the woods where he was sure not to be receiving much visitors which was how I think he preferred it. He had left me alone when I made the call, not that it mattered since he was a vampire and could it going on from any room in the house. But he had old world manners and was polite enough to forget he was immortal and step out like the gentleman that he claimed to be. And he had proven to be just that, walking back into the room just as I was putting my phone away.

"I would offer you a drink but I don't ever bring anyone here, human or vampire. So I keep nothing but blood in the cabinets." Louie stated, sticking his hands in the pockets of his black slacks, looking like a rock star with his messy short blonde hair and black t-shirt. It was hard to believe that he was two thousand years old like Godric. He came to sit down on the other end of the couch I was sitting on, with only one light on in the room for me to see his face. "So I assume your phone call home went as expected."

"Oh yes, it went down just like I thought it would." I wanted to roll my eyes at that moment as I leaned my elbow on the back of the couch and looked at Louie. "Eric's pissed that I ran off and he's even more pissed that I closed off our blood bond so he can't find me. But I knew he would be angry because that's just him."

"It sounds like he just cares a lot about you a lot." Louie pointed out with a shrug, his fingers in his short hair as he spoke. "Most vampire don't bother getting angry over a human."

"Well, that's because I'm not human." I replied with a small smile, twirling my dark hair lightly just so I would have something to do. "But I think Eric would still have gotten mad even if I was."

"He obviously loves you, even in his anger." Louie said, taking me by surprised that he could notice that since he had spent about as much time around Eric as I had spent with him and it wasn't much. But he was a vampire so they picked up on things more easily then others did. "When Godric came to me a few months ago to inquire about your ability to have visions, he mentioned Eric's love for you. And after seeing him tonight, I have no doubt."

"Who knows if he will still love me after what happened." I sighed, shutting my eyes for a minute at the thought. It distressed me because Eric and I had gone through so much just to get back together and we were still struggling with the aftermath of my resurrection and I didn't wan to lose him over this. "I guess I should explain exactly how this all came to be..."

"Well, you did kind of stalk me down." Louie said teasingly, a soft laugh escaping from his mouth. "So yes, an explanation would be nice."

"After he brought me upstairs, we argued for a bit like we always do and then things seemed to be ok. We kissed and made up and then he gave me his blood and reclaimed me. I thought things were going to end on a calm note." I started to say, relieving that moment in my head in a flash and feeling just as much shock as I had in the moment. "But then I felt this spark in my head like I always do when I hear someone's thoughts, only there was no other human in the house. It was just Eric and that's when I told him I read his mind."

"I can imagine his reaction was not a pleasant one."

"That's an understatement. He said I was crazy and insane and then he ran out like I was a danger to him." I felt my forehead wrinkle into a frown, wondering how it was possible after everything we had been through that he could look at me like that. "And then Godric came in and had the same reaction. He didn't believe me but when I proved it to him, then he ran out too. He said it was to go check on Eric, but I know him and he just wanted to get away. All in all, the reactions were bad."

"I can kind of see why, especially since no supernatural being has ever been able to read vampire thoughts. The unknown is frightening." Louie explained, laying his arm straight out on the back of the couch. "We think the world and how it was suppose to be was set in stone a long time ago. But then you come along and change all that. So it's terrifying, even to vampires."

"And human say vampire aren't afraid of anything." I scoffed, thinking of all the people who thought these immortals were fearless and apparently it wasn't true. Sure there were exceptions, but the ones I knew weren't included. And that kind of tore me up inside. I dropped both hands into my lap and looked at Louie. "Do you think I scared them?"

"Yea...I think you did." Louie laughed, shrugging his shoulder as if it were no big thing but it was to me. "But they will never admit to it."

"Great, just great. I scared the shit out of two people I love. That's just perfect." I sighed, looking down at my lap so he couldn't look at me. I didn't know how to feel at the moment. I was hit with this more then rare ability and in the process it turned me into someone to fear, even to the vampires that loved me. And that broke me heart. If vampires, the scariest creatures on earth were afraid of me and I wasn't a vampire, then where did I belong? I dared to look up at Louie only to find him staring at me and I just had to ask. "Do I scare you?"

Louie didn't say anything in response, he just held out his hand to me. I hesitated at first, not sure I wanted to touch him, knowing I had this new ability. But then again, if he was giving me his hand, then that had to mean he wasn't as entirely afraid of me as the others were. So I stretched my arm out so my fingers gingerly touched his and once our skin brushed against each other, he leaned forward and captured my entire hand in his. I could feel a connection instantly forged and I thought about pulling away but before I could, I heard a voice in my head, Louie's voice. It wasn't just thinking something. His mind was talking directly to me without his lips ever moving.

_"I could never be afraid of you. Not now, not ever. No matter what abilities you possess, I will never be a vampire that looks at you in fear."_

"Thank you." I smiled, feeling a break in the tension for the first time that night and I squeezed his hand in gratitude. "Thank you for your honesty."

"Any time." Louie took back his hand and sent me a smirk that was more playful then devious. "I never really saw the point in lying."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"Oh my god." Godric suddenly blurted out, his hand coming down to slap the kitchen table with a loud thud and gained the attention of his progeny who had been sitting with him in silence for the past half hour. Eric looked at him with a frown, probably wondering what the hell it was that had him breaking their noise free haze now. "I know where Allison is."

"How do you know that if she blocked our bonds?" Eric asked, his eyebrows raised in doubt. "I mean, no disrespect intended but I doubt even you can push back at the bond now that she is more powerful."

"I don't need the bond to know her location. It just came to me now. She's with Louie." Godric said, watching his child's eyes grow wide and those blue orbs filling with a stormy haze that was threatening to spill over. "Think about it. Louie knew the answers to everything else we ever needed to know about her in the past. And she did say she was looking for answers, so she must have gone to him."

"I cannot believe she would be in the company of that vampire again." Eric's rage took on a whole new level of fury now as the idea of another vampire with Allison entered the picture and already his hands were curling into each other. "I'll kill him."

"You can't kill Louie, he's twice your age." Godric rolled his eye at his child's automatic reaction of violence. "But Eric, are you actually jealous that she's with him?"

"Of that little bitch? No, there is no jealousy to be had." Eric scoffed, sitting back in his chair with the now calmest expression he had ever worn while trying to deny the obvious. "I am not jealous."

"Are you sure? Because you seem jealous."

"I'm not."

"Then why does your blood boil like you are getting ready to fight someone?"

"She is mine and she is with another vampire. It's territorial not jealousy that you sense."

"No, I think it is the other way around..."

"Ok fine! You fucking win. Ok?" Eric suddenly snapped, giving up the fight quicker then Godric had expected him to and that was most likely due to the viking's already boiled over fury from earlier. "I'm jealous like I'm some stupid human. Are you fucking happy?"

"Immensely." Godric tried not to laugh but it was hard not to since Eric was pouting exactly like a human would and he hated looking like anything other then the fierce vampire he was. And in Godric's eyes he still was that vampire, but even better because he was admitting to what he was feeling. "You don't need to worry, Allison loves you. She won't do anything foolish."

"Please...I ran away from her tonight like a coward. And I screw up all the time. I wouldn't blame her for running into another vampire's arms." Eric stated, glaring down at the table with fire in his face. "Not that I would ever let her, she is mine now and forever but still... I can imagine she has doubts about me."

"You two belong together with the way you think alike." Godric chuckled as he watched his child get up and begin to pace across the room with his feet making loud echoes on the tiled floor. "But before you go getting any ideas, I am telling you now that you will not be going out to look for her."

"And why the hell not?" Eric demanded, coming to a halt and whipping around with his fangs bared. "Don't you think trouble will find her if we're not around to protect her?"

"Louie will not harm her, I can guarantee that. She will be fine." Godric let his child know, confident that even though he had a dark past with Louie, the vampire who shared his age would never harm anyone. "And she will come home on her own time. But charging on to the scene and dragging her away will make things worse and you know I'm right."

"I hate agreeing with you." Eric very reluctantly said, sitting down in a huff with his fists slamming on the table top. "But I have to agree in this sense. This is the second time she had run off tonight, I do not want there to be a third time."

"Eric...I do believe you are growing up."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"Allison...I do know why you can read vampire minds."

"You do? Really?" I asked, my mouth dropping open out of relief at knowing I had come to the right place to get an answer. I had doubted that anyone could tell me why this was happening since it had always been impossible, but Louie had always given the right information before in the past. And if he said he had the answer then I was willing to believe it. "So what's wrong with me?"

"Why would you ever say that?" He asked, shaking his head in confusion at my statement as it had seemed to puzzle him. I felt his hand brush against my arm to get my attention and when I looked at him he said. "There is nothing at all wrong with you."

"There has to be...there just has to be something wrong with me if I drove the man I love and my best friend away like I was something dangerous." I didn't quite believe what he was so confidently putting out. He may not think I was unblemished, but I knew I was. " I have to be a freak if I can suddenly just do something like this."

"Trust me, you're not a freak." Louie took my hand at that moment to back up what he was saying but I did not try to read his mind. I didn't want to and I didn't have to since he had no problem telling me what was on his mind. "I know freaks and people who are monsters and are a danger to everyone around them. But you are not included in any of that."

"Then can you please tell me why this happened?" I asked, pulling back with a frown, not wanting to be comforted by his words or mannerisms. I just wanted answers. "Why can I do this?"

"When you died, you had a connection to death as all souls do when they leave their bodies. But because you were brought back to life, that connection to death wasn't completely broken." Louie began to explain and I was surprised that I was able to follow along and even more that I believed it. "Since that tie to death was never destroyed, a part of you still has that connection and when you ingested vampire blood, it reforged that tie. So it allows you to communicate with the living death, aka vampires."

"I knew it, I knew being resurrected would have some kind of consequence attached to it. And now it is showing itself." I shook my head, feeling a heaviness settle on my chest as this news seeped into my brain. "Now I will always have this ability. I should have just stayed dead."

"It's not that bad. So you can hear vampire thoughts, it's not the end of the world." Louie waved his hand as if it truly were no big deal. And maybe to him it wasn't but to me it made me feel lost. "Vampire around you will just have to put up mental guards, so you can't freely read their minds with a simple touch. Except for Eric, you don't need to touch him to hear his thoughts since it was his blood that did this."

"I don't want this...this new power, I don't want it at all." I felt my eyes get watery, my vision blurring over with tears which I was kind of grateful for so I couldn't see clear when I said this. "There's a reason why no one has been able to read the minds of vampires, it's not suppose to be possible. I don't want to know what's going on inside their heads, no matter who the vampire is. I just want it to go away... and be like I never existed."

"Well it does exist, but it's nothing to cry over." Louie told me as a river of tears made their way down my cheeks and he reached out again press a hand to my face to wipe them away with a gentle smile. "It could be a good thing if you want it to be."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I cocked my head to the side as I pulled back and brushed at my cheeks with my own hands while I looked at this vampire who was offering me comfort in an entirely different way then Eric or even Godric would have. "I mean, we barely know each other. And our only connection is through a vampire you don't even really speak to. So why would you be nice to me?"

"You are remarkable to even ask that to a vampire." Louie's laugh calmed the steady flow of tear and I was able to maintain my composure long enough to look presentable. "I guess I'm nice to you...because you remind me so much of someone from my past."

"You mean Helen?" I saw his face completely be washed over with the most heartbreaking look of pain I had ever seen on another living soul. It was obvious that this former Faerie had been the love of his life, just like it was with Eric and I. Only Louie had lost her tragically and I'm quite sure he never spoke about it to anyone. "How did she die?"

"That..." Louie began, pausing as his face went from sorrow to stormy in the matter of seconds and I watched as he turned to meet my eyes and for the first time, I wasn't seeing the calm vampire I had always seen. "That is something I do not speak of, so don't push me on it. Godric does that enough."

"You're so angry at him, I can tell." I frowned at his, finding it hard to believe that Godric was capable of doing anything to warrant this much hatred and animosity. That wasn't the vampire I knew, but clearly this was a apart of Godric I knew nothing about. And it made me ask something I never thought I would have to ask. "Did he have something to do with her death?"

"Godric...he was not the same vampire back then as he is now. And to put it mildly, he was not the person that you see or you believe him to be. He was...darker. And Helen's death was just..." Louie's voice that had started out blankly fell silent as he couldn't appear to finish what he was going to say and just shook his head. "I don't like to remember it. It brings up unbearable pain for me."

"Yea, I have some of that in my past as well, so I understand." I nodded, reliving some of my own torment and pain throughout my lifetime and shuddered that anyone would have to go and experience that. "But it seems like we are going to end up being friends and if there's ever a point that you do need to talk about it, then I can listen."

"You are definitely just like her." Louie sighed, his eyes hazy as he remembered something but I didn't dare enter his mind, it wasn't my place to do that. He looked at me a moment later with a smile and said "Time can only tell if I take you up on your offer."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Now, try not to go wandering again." Louie practically ordered me as we stood outside Eric's house 60 minutes later, with the sky beginning to lighten up on the horizon behind us and he looked down at me in an almost protective way. The exact way Godric always looked at me. "Twice in one night is extreme...Do not do it again."

"Yes master." I replied, my voice full of sarcasm even though I knew he was right in what he was saying and alluding to. Someone like me, who was sneaking out with no warning was just asking for trouble and I had already met trouble once tonight and I got lucky with this last time. So I shouldn't tempt fate again. "I will stay home like a good little girl."

"Good, that will please your viking and Godric very much." Louie rolled his eyes, looking very human and not what his age would suggest as being mature. But I found it refreshing and almost entertaining. "Stay out of trouble Ms. Stackhouse."

"I will try." My lips curled up as he leaned forward and his cold mouth pressed against my cheek and by the time I looked up, he was gone and I was alone under the quickly ending night sky. Dawn was going to be here very shortly and I was only now feeling the full brunt of my exhaustion and I was glad I was finally home.

As I was stepping in through the door, I had every intention of walking up those steps to the second floor and just crawling into bed without any interruption. I needed the sleep more then I had thought I did. So I was hoping that, I was just going to be able to make it upstairs without passing out in the living room. But even I knew it couldn't be that easy after this night. Because when I walked in, I didn't have to reach for the lights as they were already turned on. I didn't have to look far to see why because both Eric and Godric were standing in the doorway of the living room off to the right of me with their arms crossed and the same look on their faces that I was sure was on mine. A blank stare.

"Well...someone finally decided to come home." Eric was the first to speak, standing up straight as our eyes met and I could tell he was so beyond mad that he appeared calm. "It's about time."

"Yea, I guess so." I said back, tossing the flashlight from my back pocket on to the table against the wall before speaking again. "Hope you guys enjoyed your time alone."

"Allison..."Godric began, already cracking from the tough exterior and looking like he wanted to have some deep meaningful conversation but I held up my hand and shook my head.

"I don't want to hear it, from either of you." I shot a look at Eric as well, feeling an upswing of sadness come over me as I looked at him. I was still upset that he had been the first of them to run away from me. If anything, he was suppose to never react that way. In fact, he had promised me before my death that he would stop doing that and yet, he did just that. And it hurt, more then I was willing to admit right now. I moved passed them, breaking my stares with these two on my way to the staircase and I was shocked when they didn't stop me. "We will discuss this later...end of story."

I was surprised I was able to keep a straight face as I silently walked upstairs and down the hall to my room, hearing no footsteps of either vampire coming after me.

**A/N: things are starting to get tense with anyone after this new developement and i will tell you now that it doesnt let up...things are about to get crazy**


	14. Falling down hard,rising up quick

**Chapter 14 Falling down hard,rising up quick**

"Wait a second...are you for real?" Sookie asked me the next day as she and I sat out on the back porch of Bill's house with abandoned cups of coffee on the railing as she stared at me with a look of pure disbelief on her face. "Like for real for real?"

"Yes Sookie, for the millionth time it's true. I can read vampire thoughts now." I replied hesitantly even though I had repeated that phrase a few times already today but it was still scary to tell her considering the first two reactions I had gotten the night before. I had woken up this morning with an intense need to return to my old town and I called Sookie to see if we could get together and when she had said yes, I jumped in the car and drove right here. I had intended to just spend time with her while I gradually worked up the nerve to tell her what happened. But the moment she and I saw each other, it all came tumbling out and I wanted to kick myself. This was not how it was suppose to be said and I don't know how but Sookie managed to contain her shock until we were in the house and in the kitchen making coffee and then she asked me all about it. So I explained in detail to how the night had gone. From the sneaking out, the vampire attack, Louie's involvement, the blood healing me and then giving me the ability to hear Eric's thoughts, and then how I took to the woods to find Louie so he could explain it to me. I left nothing out and by the time I was done, I had been worried she was on the verge of being afraid of me just like Eric and Godric were. But all she asked was for me to confirm it and when I did, she just sat there with curious eyes and I was feeling flickers of nervousness. "Um...say something..please..."

"I think that while it is completely shocking, unbelievably crazy, and downright impossible...I honestly don't think it is that big of a deal." Sookie shocked me with her response and I nearly fell off the porch swing when she simply shrugged her shoulders as if we were simply talking about the weather or a movie and not my new found ability to read the minds of vampires. She smiled at me in amusement, shaking her head. " What? You thought I would have a freak out and look at you like you were a freak?"

"Uh...yes actually. That's exactly what I thought you would react with." I answered honestly, still kind of taken aback that she seemed to be taking this well. If anything, she would have been the one more likely to have the worse freak out rather then Eric and Godric. But yet she was taking it in stride and I wasn't really sure what to make of it. I looked at her with a frown. "You honestly don't care about this?"

"No. Not at all." Sookie leaned forward to grab her coffee mug before sitting back with a smile. "Should I be making a bigger deal about it?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved that you are so calm about this because I think its a little scary, but when you're told your cousin can do the impossible, I at least expect something more animated." I told her, running my fingers through the ends of my loose hair as I saw the images of Eric and Godric's reactions to my new. It was that response that made me cautious to tell another person about this. But Sookie wasn't just another person, she was my cousin and I had always told her everything. So this shouldn't have been different. "You don't think this makes me a freak?"

"Not at all, it's just another power. Nothing to be ashamed of." She waved her hand before taking a sip of coffee and then said. "Actually I think it's neat and sort of useful."

"How so?" I questioned, wondering how this could be of use. "And even if it was useful, I don't want to know what's going on in vampires' heads."

"Well no one else has to know except for those closest to you, just keep it in this circle and it will fine." Sookie tossed her hair back behind her shoulder with ease. "And as for being useful...you can use it to read Bill's mind whenever I think he's lying to me. It will be great!"

"Not funny, I do not want to read your husband's thoughts. That would be way too weird." I grimaced at the thought of getting a peak inside Bill's head. It was one thing with Eric or even Godric but Bill? He was married to my cousin and if I went digging in his head then I would probably hear something I did not want to hear and I could be scarred for life. But the fact that she was clearly making a joke out of this made me feel calmer then I felt in days. "I'm just thrilled that you took this well. I couldn't handle another bad reaction."

"So you never did tell me how Eric and Godric took it. You somehow managed to avoid describing that part." She made a point of saying with her eyebrows raised at me. "So spill it."

"When I told the both of them, neither believed it and when I proved it to them, they turned around and left the house. And when I came back last night, I just walked passed them to my room. And we haven't spoken since." I explained, feeling my heart ache from the thought of not having the support of those two. "I'm scared that this will change things and I don't it to."

"Nothing's going to change. They are just in shock and in time they will get over it." She assured me, her free hand reaching out to squeeze one of mine. "They're vampires, their attention spans go a million miles an hour. I'm sure that by tonight it will all be ok."

"I hope that is true, but I doubt it will be."

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

"I hope this night ends the way Sookie thinks it will." I muttered to myself as I walked up the front steps of Eric's house, reminding myself that it was also my house as well as the sun was almost finished setting in the sky as I let myself in. It had been past 6 by the time I started driving out of Bon Temps and I knew I would just be making it back in time for Eric to wake up when I walked in. And sure enough, I had barely hung up my jacket and turned when Eric appeared, surprising me to the point that I screamed. "Jesus Christ..."

"No, Eric Northman." He said back with a leveled stare as he stepped out of the doorway leading down to the basement and kicked it shut with a thud before setting his eyes on me intently. "Where were..."

"I was in Bon Temps with Sookie, but I left you a note and a voice mail, so you can't yell at me." I replied, crossing my arms and directed my gaze towards the floor. I didn't want to look at him, to see the way he was looking at me differently then he use to. And I knew he would be, after last night I wasn't sure if things had a chance of being what they use to be I kept my eyes trained downward as I walked across the tiled floor towards the staircase, saying softly. "I'm just going to go..."

"Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere." Eric appeared in front of me, his feet coming into my line of vision before I could reach the stairs and forced me to come to a stop and look at him. I couldn't read the expression on his face and I didn't dare try to read his mind so I just waited for him to speak. "We need to talk about last night."

"I don't think we do." I shook my head, there was no way I was revisiting those moments when it felt like I was completely alone in the world and if he thought we were going to discuss it then he was dead wrong. I went to move around him, but he also moved to the side and kept me from going anywhere. I growled in frustration and moved to the right but he was blocking my path that way too and finally I stopped moving and grabbed his arm out of anger. "Eric, I don't want to..."

_"I can't believe things have changed again...i don't like change...there's been too much of it this year."_

_"It's been so damn hard since she came back...i keep trying but it feel like such a struggle to get back on track...things keep getting in the way.."_

_"And I thought feeding on all those girls who looked like her while she was dead was hard enough to deal with...but this is on another level..."_

"Oh my god." I gasped, letting go of his arm immediately and stepping back in horror over what I had unwillingly just heard. One look up at Eric's face said that he too was aware that I had listened in and he was staring at me with this mixture of fury and guilt in his eyes. I moved away so there was at least a few feet between us before I had to ask the obvious just to make sure I had heard it right. "Is it true? Wha...what I just heard, is it true?"

"Yea. It is." Eric didn't even put up a fight like he normally would have done in this situation and I think it was because he knew he couldn't lie his way out of it. I had heard it for myself straight from his mind and there was nothing he could say or do to make me forget it had been said. So we both knew he couldn't deny this and maybe it was better this way. Or maybe not, because after seeing him nod in confirmation, I felt my heart thud painfully and I knew he could sense it because he actually started moving towards me. "Allison, don't take this..."

"How many? How many girls did you feed on?" I demanded but by the way my voice had gone quiet, it sounded far more weak then I would have liked. But I could care less what I sounded like. I just wanted answers. I always wanted answers. I looked up at his face and asked again. "How many were there? 10? 15?"

Eric didn't say anything in response and just stood there with his arms hanging down at his side and I thought that maybe he hadn't heard me. But he was a vampire, he could hear a pin drop in the backward, so he did hear me. Then why wasn't he saying anything? Unless it was because I had said the wrong amount and just thinking about it made me eyes grow wide in panic.

"There were more? More then 15?" I managed to get out even thought it was extremely hard for me at the moment to even look at him. I knew deep down that I couldn't exactly be upset with him right now over this since it had happened when we weren't technically together. But that went out the window in my desperation to know exactly what he had done. " Exactly how many girls did you bring here?"

"You don't want to know..." Eric looked away in shame, a look that was rarely ever seen on his face. The Eric I knew did not ever feel ashamed of his actions and yet here he was looking exactly that. It made me fearful of the answer that I knew he would give. And that was pretty much the case when he met my eyes again and muttered. "45...I brought home 45 girls who looked like you."

"I...uh...that's..." I felt stupid right then and there, struggling to form even the tiniest of responses to this revelation. I didn't know how to respond. I wanted to yell and cry and hit him for doing this. But my mind couldn't decide which would be more fitting, so my heart took over and soon I knew what reaction I would give as tears filled up my eyes. I started moving around him towards the stairs. "I cannot believe you would do that."

"I was grieving you Allison...and I didn't know what to do to snap me out of it." Eric cut in, turning around to follow me with his eyes but he didn't do anything more to stop me except by his voice. "You were gone and I was hurting. I had to do something..."

"Trust me, you did something alright." I felt my voice waver and I quickly tried to frown to ward off the tears that were seriously on the verge of falling. But the attempt failed as I hit the first step and grabbed the banister. "Just...don't bother me for a while."

And then I turned and ran as fast as I could away from him, getting to the second floor landing right before the tears finally started falling.

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours later<span>_

I found myself still in the same place I had been 120 minutes after I had fled from Eric downstairs and I had no intention of leaving this spot. I found the little amount of comfort I could possibly find on the balcony to my bedroom and remained there in the dark night with the only light coming from the stars and the half moon hanging out in the dark distance. I hadn't heard any noise from Eric since I left him and I was glad for it, after what I had just found out, I couldn't stay in the same vicinity as him. It was just too suffocating and I had to get out of there or else I would end up doing something stupid like trying to hit him. So I was the one who ran away this time and I wasn't going to be making an appearance any time soon. I don't I had even sat down for more then a few minutes before I was up and standing at the railing again. I just couldn't remaining still and even standing here like I was for the past 30 minutes, I was still rocking back and forth from foot to foot.

"Should be try this talking thing again?" Eric's voice spoke up from behind me out of nowhere, his feet never alerting me to his arrival but I didn't jump like I'm sure he had expected me to. I knew he would eventually come to break the silence between us first and it was only a matter time before that happened and now it looked like that moment had come. I didn't even bother turning around when he spoke again. "It's been a few hours, let's talk."

"I don't want to talk to you. I'm mad at you." I snapped quietly, not wanting to give a louder voice to the anger I was feeling right now and instead just dropped my hands to the stone railing and tapped it furiously with my fingertips. "I still can't believe you were with that many girls. How could you do that?"

"I was alone and depressed. And I had to act out." He said, this time his feet made noise as he moved over the balcony towards me, his body coming to a stop near mine as he turned around and leaned back against it with his arms crossed tightly. "I lost you and I didn't know you were coming back. So I was just doing something to console myself."

"And that makes it ok?" I exclaimed, turning my head to the side to look up at his face that was barely visible in the dark night. "Just because you were mourning, it makes it ok for you to go out and do whatever you wanted with almost 50 women?"

"If you hadn't died, then I never would have gone out to seek these women for comfort. So you may not like it but I did nothing wrong. It only would have been wrong if you were still alive when I did it. But you weren't." Eric's voice had risen to a near shout but it fell just short as if he were hesitant to yell at me as I was at him. His eyes shot towards me rapidly, almost glaring into slits as he said. "You know me better then that. You know I never would have been with another woman if you were still at my side. You know that."

We both went silent after that for a few minutes and just allowed the quietness of the night fall over us as we each fumed in our own little haze of emotions. Our bonds were open to the fullest degree so I was feeling everything he was feeling and the same went for him. I wasn't surprised that we both were spitting out the same kind of emotions since we had been so in tune to each other before that sometimes we even felt the same way about things. He was feeling the anger and guilt just as strongly as I was and there was a huge difficulty in deciding who was the one feeling it stronger. I knew why I was mad, because of the obvious betrayal of him feeding on those other girls. Eric had never fed on anyone else except for me, saying that I was the best he would ever have. So to hear he had gone to other girls and especially ones who looked like me, it hurt that much more. And I was guilty because I had promised him long ago that I wouldn't leave him, I wasn't going to die but that promise had been null and void that night in the graveyard. It wasn't my fault but in Eric's eyes I knew he had wanted me to fight harder then I had. And hearing myself think that made every bad feeling I had go flying out of me just in time for me to look up at Eric's face.

"I don't want to keep fighting with you." I said softly, looking into those blue eyes that had once been so hypnotizing to me. "But I don't know how to not feel upset by this."

"You were dead Allison...that kills me to say, but you were dead. And I was just trying to deal with losing you in the only way I knew how." Eric's voice was calmer then I thought was possible considering just minutes ago we had been almost yelling at each other. But he was obviously trying to defend himself. "You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have hurt you like that. But you were gone and that killed me. I didn't think that what I was doing would come back to haunt me."

"You're right, I wish you weren't right but you are and even I can admit that now. I was dead and you had every right to move on and do whatever you wanted. You have no tie to me and I know if I had been alive those 2 months then you wouldn't have done that." I couldn't look at him as I said this because I hated admitting that I was wrong and I knew I was. I wasn't around and Eric was in pain because I was gone and he was perfectly allowed to go out and mourn my death in any way he wanted. I couldn't give him crap for that just because it hurt me to know he had been with other girls. But it did still sting at me a little. "I'm sorry but I can't help it. I'm still upset."

"You weren't meant to find out about that..." Eric began to say but I had to cut him as I had something more important to get out.

"But I did find out and in a way, it turned out to be a good thing..." I sighed, turning around and leaned against the railing just like he was and tucked my hair back behind me. "With everything that has happened since my resurrection and with the recent developments from last night, it got me thinking..."

"That is never a good thing." Eric instantly cut me off as it was obvious he did not like it where this was going. But I still went on, needing to get this out before I lost my nerve. It was something I had been wondering since I came back.

"We haven't been close since my return and I understand that it will take time to get back to normal but I've been wondering if it's something more then that. Like is the reason why we haven't re bonded like we use be because you don't want to be with me?" I felt that same teary feeling coming over me that had been present downstairs when I found out about the other girls and just like then, the tears spilled out no matter how hard I tried to stop them. "Do you still want me? Do you still love me?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Eric appeared in front of me, his hands coming up to cup my face and pulled me up so I was looking at him straight on as he held my gaze. "Of course I want you. And yes I still love you. I never stopped. Why would you ever question that?"

"You ran away from me Eric. You made a promise to me long ago to never do that again. And last night, you looked at me like I was a threat to you and that hurt me when I had to watch you run away." I pushed his hands away from me and moved to the side while trying to wipe away my tears. "Every time you do that, it confuses me. So I don't know what you want."

"I want you..." Eric's hands were on my shoulders and he easily turned me around to face him again and this time he kept his grip tight so I couldn't get away. "I want you now and forever."

"I want to believe that..."

"Then let me prove it to you. Give me some time to get use to this new power of yours, because I know you know how fucked up it is..." He said this so pointedly that I couldn't help but laugh through my tears. "Just give me the time for it to sink in and I know I can make things right. Because my love for you never changed and it can get back to normal."

"I know you never wanted me to know what's going on in your head and I never wanted this power. But I have it and if anyone has the right to be scared then it's me. It happened to me and I need you to help me through this." This was probably the first time I had actually asked him for help since I had come back to life and it felt weird to say despite the fact that I had no problem doing it before my death. But things were so different now and it was going to take more work this time around but I wasn't about to give up. I fought too damn for this relationship and I wasn't letting it go without a fight. "I can't do this alone."

"I promise, you won't have to." Eric shook his head as his large hands encased my tiny wrists. He sounded so certain as he said this. "I will meet the true death before I run away from you again."

"I mean it Eric, never again. You've broken that promise before and I'm willing to let it slide this time because of everything that's happened these last few weeks. But it's different now, because I want to move on and be happy with you now that I got a second chance at life." I was being more vulnerable then I had in a while and I certainly hadn't gotten this intense with Eric since I got back, but I knew I would have to come to this point if we had any shot at being together and having a future. I looked up at him and tried to keep myself together. "If we're going to be together, I have to be certain you won't run every time something happens. Because I can't take that anymore. Too many people have disappeared from my life and you can't be one of them."

"I swear on my life, I will not betray you like that again." His thumb ran across my cheek to stop a tear in its tracks. "You have my word."

"Alright, I believe you." I managed to nod before I looked up at him and I couldn't help but make a promise to him in return. "And I swear I will try my hardest not to read your mind unless you want me to."

"Now that is a very good promise to make to someone like me." Eric's face broke into a smirk that I could see when the moon moved out from behind a stormy looking cloud and lit up his face. "I have a feeling this will be the start of something good, perhaps it will be better then what we had before."

"I think so too." I agreed, feeling my hair blow over my face from the wind which I was glad of since it hid that I was still crying.

"Don't cry." Eric's fingers were brushing at my cheeks again, clearing my face of any more tears that dared to fall. His face was tight as it always when I cried in front of him. He still couldn't take it. And even he couldn't deny that. "I've seen you cry too much and for once you deserve to be happy for a while."

"Stay with me and I will be happy." I told him, reaching out to wrap my arms around his midsection so I could hold on to him. "Don't go anywhere."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

><p><em><span>45 minutes later<span>_

"I was hunting down the witches."

"What?" Allison looked up at him like she hadn't quite heard right but he knew she ad judging by the way her eyes had grown wide in the matter of just a few seconds. They had been standing there in silence since their last talk and things were calm for the moment which they both appreciated. But then Eric began mulling over some long forgotten things in his head that had been brought to the surface by this night and before he knew it he was blurting it out with no restraint. And Allison was looking at him like he was crazy. "Are you serious?"

"Yea, I am. 100%" He nodded, leaning back against the railing by her side while he kept his eyes trailed on her. "But I guess just randomly saying it makes it hard to believe."

"In a way yes, but considering our history with that coven I know there has to be some truth to it." She nodded, running her fingers through her hair, her face briefly showing a flash of remembrance of the witches and it was not a good expression. "But since you brought it up, go on. Say what you were going to say because I know that wasn't just it."

"I had been mourning you for weeks on end, I wasn't talking to people and I was lashing out violently at the house and at Godric and Pam. And after I fed on those girls, it came to me that I never avenged your death like I had promised. And I felt like shit, so after some convincing, Godric helped me get in touch with Isabel to see if the rest of the witches had returned to Dallas. But they were in Mississippi and that's where we headed to." Eric recounted that night as best as he could to her, but he was momentarily overcome with a flash of anger at himself for not going back and finishing the job. Those witches were still out there, roaming around and probably killing at random. And if they ever got wind that Allison had come back then, that red headed bitch Anna could return to try and get at Allison once again. And he couldn't have it. He would have to kill her before she laid a hand on Allison. "The night of your resurrection, we had just left the state and were on a rooftop after the rain had let up when we got the call from Pam. And when she told us about you, obviously all thoughts of revenge went out the window and we had to come home immediately."

"I have to say...I'm impressed." Allison looked up at him with a smile and with their bond flowing wide open, he could feel just how pleased she was at what he had just said. And that was not what he was expecting. He thought any mention of the witches would send her into a tailspin. But a second later, he got an explanation. " You were holding on to the promise you made to me. I can't believe you were going to do it."

"Don't sound so surprised..." Eric found himself smirking, standing up straight to his full height and sent a look down at her. "I can pull through on a promise once in a while."

Allie laughed in response and then for the first time that night and what was really in a very long time, she actually moved towards him instead of him coming at her. She stepped up and with only the slightest of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his cold body and pressed herself against him, laying her cheek on his chest while they stood there in silence. Eric, while thrilled to have her back in his arms, made sure to keep up his mental blocks up so she wouldn't unwillingly hear something else she wasn't suppose to and there was a lot of stuff in his past that he did not want her to see or hear. But it wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be and even found himself relaxing there with her as the wind picked up and blew against them. The silence was welcoming after so much talk but it wasn't meant to last all that long as her quiet voice broke it.

"I want to be there..." She whispered, sounding so quiet and soft that no human would have been able to pick up on it but he did and he felt his arms tense around her as she tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "When you go after the rest of the witches and hunt them down, I want to be there. I want to help you kill them."

"No. I'm not letting you put yourself in their path again. I made that mistake once and I will never make it again. So no." Eric was shocked that she would even say that she wanted to go back into battle, but his shock was quickly overridden by his dismissal of the idea. There was no way in hell that he would let her fight these witches again and risk losing her permanently this time. It was miracle she had gotten a second chance and he was not going to tempt fate by allowing her to go head to head with the last of the witches. He looked down at her and shook his head. "Sorry, it's not going to happen."

"It's ok. We don't have to decide anything right now..." Allison said with a steady tone in her voice but he could tell through their bond that she was disappointed that he shot her down. She smiled gently and said with a determined little look on her face. "But that coven took my life and now I want to finish them off. Painfully."

"Wow, that sounds more like something I would say." Eric pointed out with a smirk at his surprise to head his sweet Faerie talking like someone unlike herself. "You've changed a lot."

"This year changed all of us." Allie replied quietly, moving forward into his arms again as they both fell silent.

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Allison? I think we need to talk...oh sorry." Godric came skidding to a stop as he caught sight of the young Fae lying in Eric's arms on a lounge chair out in the balcony, both in their own world that was now broken when he had his sudden appearance. He had come here tonight to make amends with her for his atrocious behavior and now he wanted to back track and leave the house. This was a moment the two of them were having and he felt like he was intruding by coming here. "Um, I'm just going to go and..."

"It's ok Godric. You can stay." Allison called after him, getting to her feet despite resistance from his progeny and skipped over to him into the room with a lightness in her face that he had not seen since before her death. She didn't reach out for him like she normally would have but she did smile at him and that put him slightly more at ease. "I was actually hoping to see you."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that considering what happened just last night." Godric grimaced at the way he had recoiled from her, acting like she was this dangerous creature when in actuality she was just a scared little girl who needed him and he wasn't there. And for that, he would never quite forgive himself. Sure, she could do something no other supernatural being had been able to do in the history of the vampire and he should have taken into account how scary it was for her instead of focusing on himself and his own reaction. She was the one that would have to deal with this power and what it would bring to her life and yet he had been selfish and took off like a weakling. He had to make amends. "Allison, I have to express my sincere apologies..."

"Godric...you don't have to." She cut in, holding up her hand to keep him from making a sound as she looked over her shoulder to where Eric was walking up behind her. "I understand why you reacted that way and it's ok."

"No, it's not. It's not ever ok for me to treat you like that and I so incredibly sorry for behaving like anything less then the friend you deserve. You have been nothing but a friend to me this whole time and I took that friendship for granted last night. And I wouldn't blame you for not forgiving me right away. I haven't been very steadfast in my behavior this year. And it makes me more like Eric every day..."

"Hey! That's not cool." Eric exclaimed, pretending to look offended but they both knew it was just for show and sure enough his face fell into a smirk within a few seconds.

"Seriously Godric, its ok." She told him, gaining his attention again only to find her smiling at him like she use to. "After talking to Eric tonight, I'm just willing to let it all go. Let's just forget about it."

"Wait a second." His progeny demanded with his eyebrows raised practically into his hairline as he came up to their spot and looked between them. "You can just let things slide with him and yet you pick a fight with me and put me through the ringer. What the hell?"

"Oh shut up Eric." Allie rolled her eyes, the smile never breaking from her face as she looked up at the former viking and even Godric had to grin. Even after everything that happened, the love that these two shared had not lessened in its intensity one little bit. It was evident they felt just as strongly for one another as they ever had and it was nice to see. Allison reached out for Eric's hand, twining her fingers with his before holding out her other hand to Godric which he gladly took with no hesitation. "Now let's just try and get on with our lives."

"That sounds good to me." Eric's face was filled with a masked expression that neither of them could decipher,but with the way he was grinning down at Allison hinted that what was going on in his head was not something Godric wanted to know. "Life will be good from now on."

"You're right Eric, it will be good. No matter what pops up for any of us from here on out, we stick together from now on." Godric told the two of them confidently, squeezing Allison's hand gently in his. "We are a family as odd as it is. And we will always have each others backs forever."

The words had barely left his mouth before Godric found himself being shoved back into the past at breakneck speed as he was drowned in a memory he had long since forgotten about...

_"Godric? Why have you asked us here?" Louie questioned of his friend of almost a thousand years, turning to look at the shorter vampire as he made his way across the darkened field to where Louie stood at the base of a wall of rock where they would remain hidden from any passerby. "It sounded urgent."_

_"Not so much urgent as it just is necessary." Godric replied with a pointed look, reaching the hidden spot and looking around with a frown on his face. "Where has Helen run off to? She was suppose to be here with you?"_

_"I'm right here Godric." The feminine voice spoke up from behind him and he turned to see the Faerie with wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes stepping through the grass carefully with a mound of fur wrapped around her to protect her body from the cold. "I had to wait until the village was quiet before I could escape and I doubled back to make certain I was not being followed."_

_"You risk your life just to hold company with a pair of vampires." Godric __made a point of saying, watching as the beautiful Faerie went to Louie's side and took his arm when he held it out to her. Godric tried to ignore the stab of jealous that ran through him at seeing them joined together, but it soon disappeared as he set his eyes on the both of them. "You both know that our situation is getting dire, that the villagers who have not known of our existence are now becoming aware of our presence. And it won't be long until an uprising happens..."_

_"Godric, do not fear what may or may not happen. You don't know what will occur in a month's time or even a night from now." Helen said, reaching out with her free hand to brush it against his arm, setting off a fire in his heart that had yet to be quenched despite her preference for his friend. "Don't fear the unknown, just be here with us right now and it will all be ok. As long as we all have each other then that is all any of us will ever need."_

_"I'm afraid she is right..." Louie quickly allowed a smile to come over his face despite the look Helen shot at him for his statement. "Even with the Faerie village allowing us access to their inner most workings, it will not be long until they rebel against us and push us out again. But Helen alone stands up against it and has pledged her loyalty to us. And as long as we all remain united, then our time together will never be cut short."_

_"Perhaps you are right on that front." Godric nodded in agreement, knowing the peace between the Fae and vampires wouldn't last long despite the village allowing him and Louie to walk amongst them. But Helen had long ago since promised that had there ever been a need to make a stand in the occurrence of an uprising, then she would remain with them completely. A promise that Godric took to heart and made sure they all knew the importance of. He took Helen's hand and then reached out for Louie's outstretched hand, joining them all in a circle as he made a final statement. "The peace may fail and things may be destroyed but not us. We are a family and we will protect each other forever."_

_"Forever." Helen and Louie echoed his sentiments with a squeeze of his hands..._

"Godric? Are you alright?" Allison's hand shook him as he suddenly came out of his flashback to find his child who was not his former best friend and the Faerie that was not Helen staring back at him in concern. He dropped Allison's hand that he had been holding the whole time and stepped back with a shake of his head, trying to clear the memory from his mind. Allison moved toward him cautiously. "You spaced out for a moment there."

"I don't think I have ever seen you get lost in your own head as you did just now." Eric said with a frown, studying him with curious eyes as he must have known it was a long ago memory that he did not know about. "Are you ok master?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Godric sent them both one of his sincere smiles, knowing they needed it to assure themselves that he was indeed as ok as his words suggested. But even he knew that unleashing this one little memory was just the first in a whole ocean full of things in his life that he did not want to remember. Bad things. Dark things. Painful things. But he wasn't going to worry them with that and just simply echoed his own words. "I am perfectly fine."


	15. A turn for the good

**Chapter 15 A turn for the good**

_The next night_

"You guys are now the ones who are out of their minds." I grumbled to both Eric and Godric as I walked between the two of them across the parking lot of Fangtasia towards the front door with less enthusiasm about going into the bar then having a cavity filled in every tooth in my mouth. I glared up at them and demanded. "And what makes you think this is a good idea?"

"Contrary to what you may think, my mind does occasionally slip to other things besides you." Eric answered with a devious smirk, his hand at my lower back as we walked passed the line of humans waiting to go in and I heard a few of them sigh at the sight of Eric but I ignored them as best I could. Eric took it all in stride as we entered the empty bar together. "And as much as I would rather spend each and every night with you, I do have a business to run and sometimes it depends on my appearances to make money."

"And you couldn't just leave me at home with Godric?" I asked, looking to my friend for help but he simply held up his hands as if saying this was all on me and I sent an evil look at him before saying. "You could have left me on my own..."

"Now that is funny, leaving you by yourself. Ha! Like you wouldn't have tried to sneak out after we left." Eric called me out on it and even I had to admit he was right. History was against me on this one, as I had left the house way too many times behind their back and it always got me in trouble. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to put up a fight about it. Eric beat me to it however. "It will just be for a couple of hours and then we can leave. I have more amusing activities planned for us."

"Oh I am sure you do." I rolled my eyes but secretly I felt my cheeks go red at his words. It had been a while since Eric had spoken to me like that and I was just realizing now how much I missed it. But I wasn't about to give in too easily. "I still think its a bad idea."

"Why is that? Both Eric and I are older then any vampire who might come in here and we are more then capable of protecting you if need be." Godric told me in that assured, confident tone of his that had a knack for putting me at ease. "So what is there for you to worry about enough to think this is a bad idea?"

"Oh just the simple fact that I now can read vampire minds." I said sarcastically, looking around the empty main room that hadn't changed since I had last been here. "It's bad enough that I can hear what the humans are thinking about me, but now I can possibly hear what the vampires are thinking about me and I'm not sure that is something I want to hear."

"You are so uptight sometimes, my lover." Eric whispered in my ear as his hand moved down and slapped my ass lightly, causing my mouth to drop open in surprise long enough for him to plant a long and slightly hot kiss on my lips before pulling away. He sent a smirk down at me before backing away towards the stage just as the front door opened to start letting the humans in. "I'll be watching you."

And I watched him walk away towards the stage where his throne was waiting for him and he dropped down into it with a smile on his face like he missed being there. And as soon as the humans started moving about and began sending looks his way, I saw his eyes light up. Eric loved the attention being on him and thank god that I wasn't up there because I hated the spotlight, so I was more then ok to have these women and barely legal girls staring at him as long as I didn't have to be up there too. I felt Godric's hand on the inside of my arm and I turned to smile at him as he lead me away to the bar so we both could get a drink. I tried pulling down the hem of the short black dress Eric had asked me to wear, but it didn't do much to cover me and Godric seemed to be amused by my attempts.

"Relax, you look beautiful." He told me, sounding so sincere about it that I actually felt ok even if it wasn't my normal type of dress to wear. He helped me up on to the tall stools before taking a seat next to me, intending to keep his promise about not leaving me alone until I was comfortable enough. "And Eric thinks so too since he is staring you and only you."

"I'm surprised since he has a half naked woman dancing in front of him." I pointed out, looking over my shoulder at the stage to see Eric's eyes coming clear across the now crowded floor to me and his lips twitched into a smile. He had no interest in the dancer swinging around on the pole in front of him, his eyes didn't even flicker over to her once even though she was blonde and curvy. Godric was right, Eric was only staring at me. I turned back around with a grin, saying. "Ok, let's get that drink."

"As you wish." Pam's voice filled my ears before she appeared out from behind the door off to the side of the bar and stepped in front of us with her usual playful smirk and raised eyebrows as she looked over me. "Mmm, yummy."

"Um, thanks...I think." I shook my head, her comments not fazing me anymore as I was now use to them after all this time. And even after her being the one to see me first after I was resurrected. That had inadvertently changed our relationship and while she still talked to me the same way, it wasn't as seedy or as perverted as I once found it. There was a teasing, lightheartedness about it and I actually smiled. "How are you tonight Pam?"

"Oh...I'm great. And I'll tell you why." Pam began to say, leaning forward over the bar counter to me like she was going to whisper something but instead she spoke in a normal tone. "My maker told me all about this new gift of yours..."

"Oh my god." I groaned, knowing Eric of course would tell his progeny about the vampire mind reading ability I now had since he pretty much told her everything. And that made me drop my head down on the bar counter with a groaned as I muttered. "I swear to God...I am going to kill Eric Northman."

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

"Oh she is mad at me." Eric said to himself with a smirk as he observed Allie from across the room where she was still sitting at the end of the bar, talking to Pam while occasionally sending him dirty looks that he simply found amusing. He had heard, clear as day what Pam had said to her and he knew Allison was annoyed for letting that piece of information be slipped to another vampire. But she had nothing to worry about. Pam, although manipulative and feisty, would never pass this on to anyone else. They had all agreed that Allie's new power would stay in their circle and never be let out to anyone else. Not many vampires would react well to the news that their thoughts were now possibly on display for a near human to hear. Allie knew all this and yet she still purposely opened up their bond to send waves of annoyance at him but even through that, he could tell she wasn't truly mad. She just liked to pretend to be to play this game with him. And truthfully, it was kind of fun. "Damn I cannot wait till the end of the night."

"You seem extremely happy right now." Godric's amused voice came at him from the side and he turned his head to see his maker joining him up on stage and taking the seat that Allie would have been in had she wanted to come up here. Godric sent a look at human who looked disgruntled that he couldn't come up there before turning to him with a smile. "I've noticed that you haven't taken your eyes off her even once tonight and I have a feeling that is why you look as happy as you do."

"Can you blame me? Look at her." Eric looked back across the mass of people crowding the floor to find the girl he loved and marveled at the fact that all that beauty wrapped up in that tiny body all belonged to him. "She's breathtaking and all mine."

"Sometimes you speak about her like she is your favorite toy."

"She is my favorite toy."

"Now that sounds like the old you. You haven't sounded like yourself in quite a while so it is nice to see a comeback." Godric pointed out, sitting back in the chair with his hands resting on the arms. "It seems like things are starting to take a turn for the better."

"I agree, I definitely think they have taken a huge step up, even just from last night." Eric nodded in agreement to his maker's observation, amazed that such a change could occur just within a 24 hour window. But it had. It seemed like the three of them making peace had been the thing that set them on the path to making bigger changes to all their lives. It wasn't perfect and it wouldn't be for a long time, but they were healing and any progress was good. "But there is still a long road ahead of us before things resemble normal. But we'll get there."

"It will happen, just give it time and be patient. I know how hard that is for you." Godric said teasingly, touching on the point that Eric was not the one to have the best patience level. But even his maker knew how seriously he took things with Allison. "But I honestly think you two will have the happy ending you want. That is if you do indeed still want it."

"You mean if I still want to marry her? Hell yes I do." Eric retorted, looking back at Allison and feeling that same wave of love he always felt towards her. She must have felt it because she looked up and met his eyes with a smile on her face. He grinned back, saying. "I can't wait for the moment when that happens. It will make all this worth it."

"When do you think that will happen?" Godric inquired, gaining his attention away. "I mean, you did say you would propose again and I'm just curious when that will be."

"She was resurrected not that long and now she has a new power we need to get use and I'm sure something else will pop up along the way. Right now is not the time to be asking her a life changing question." Eric explained, feeling a slight disappointment because he would have liked nothing more then to ask her that again. But even he knew that throwing that at her when so much other stuff was going on was not the way to go. Even if he wanted to do it sooner rather then later. "I swore to stay by her side and be supportive. And I think part of that is making sure not to overwhelm her when I don't need to."

"Wow, I am actually impressed with you, my child." Godric laughed lightly as he patted Eric's arm. "Maybe you are growing up."

"Well, it is about time right?" He asked in response, shrugging his shoulders in his maker's direction. "I've had a thousand years of not acting my age, so maybe its time for something new."

"That I most definitely approve of."

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

"You know, putting down drink after drink in front of me is not going to make me want it. Even if they are free." I told Pam as she put yet another shot glass of vodka on the counter where it joined the other shots that had not been successful in making their way into my system. "Its going to go to waste."

"Oh I'm sure eventually you will start drinking at least a few of them and maybe by then you will be so buzzed that you drink the rest and then it won't be a waste, will it?" Pam shot back, sending me a look that was basically telling me to reach for the first glass but I resisted, never having been much a drinker. But Pam didn't let up. "Oh come on. I think you'll be more fun if you're drunk."

"Yea and maybe I will also get up on the pole and start dancing." I rolled my eyes sarcastically but one look at Pam told me she didn't take it as a joke. "Um, kidding. I would never do that."

"What a shame, I'm sure you would be marvelous." Pam pretended to look disappointed and I'm sure on some level she was. She was probably always going to be after me, hoping to see me in next to nothing and actually she already had. She had been the one to put me in the bathtub after I dug out of my grave and I hadn't thought about it at the time, but I had been stripped down entirely and never once thought to feel weird about it. But I'm sure that was not the image and moment she had in mind about seeing my body without clothing. I'm sure she was hoping it would be something more exciting then bathing me. "Anyway, you should drink up. If you won't be drunk for me then at least be drunk for Eric. I'm sure my maker would appreciate it."

"Eric appreciates it when I'm completely sober, so that won't work." I shook my head at her, almost enjoying the conversation. It had been a while since I had such a lighthearted talk and when it came to Pam, she was hardly every serious and sometimes that was a good thing. "We have plenty of good times without your help."

"But I can make things so much more fun if you let me." She added, leaning forward with her hands grasping the counter top and an evil smile on her face. "You want to please Eric, I know you do. And a good way to do that is to have a three..."

"Pam, for the last time I will not be having a three some with you and Eric so stop thinking it will happen." I had to almost applaud her for her constant determination, she knew what she wanted and she went after it. It would never happen but I did admire her drive. I even sometimes wished I had her guts. She was strong willed, that's for sure. "You don't stop with the persistence do you?"

"No, because I know eventually I will wear you down, even if it takes years. I'm a vampire, I can be patient." She said smugly, flashing her teeth at me so I could see her fangs were slightly out. "You need to break out of your shell and live a little."

"I live plenty well thank you." I said, accepting the bottle of water she was holding out to me instead of another shot of alcohol, but as I was taking the bottle, her fingers were brushing against mine and I was soon hearing her voice inside my head.

_"...damn you Eric for not sharing her...she would be so much fun to take on __a ride...and I don't mean in a car.."_

_"Oh the things I would to do that tight little body of hers...the places I would touch her..stroke her..."_

_"Hearing her say my name...begging for more as I kiss down her body..."_

"Oh my god Pam, you really do only have sex on the brain." I snapped, pulling away from at the same time as she did and I looked her in the eye expecting to see her glaring at me for reading her mind and hearing thoughts she did not want me to hear. But when our eyes met, I was taken aback by the very nonchalant way she was staring at me and that's when I grew suspicious. "You bitch! You did that on purpose."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Pam feigned innocence as she stood up straight and pretended to be interested in rearranging the bottles of alcohol behind the bar, but before she turned away, I saw the small smirk on her lips.

"You are such a liar. You thought dirty things on purpose because you knew I would hear them." I whispered furiously, making sure to keep my voice low so no other vampire could hear me. "I cannot believe you."

"Come on, you know you want to laugh." Pam replied, turning back to face me with a grin. "You have to admit it would be better that I'm amused by this rather then be pissed that you were in my head."

"I can't always help it." I exclaimed, fighting the fit of laughter that was so badly threatening to come out. But it was no use because I heard the first of many giggles escape from my lips and I couldn't help but slam my fists on the counter. "Damn you."

"You know you love me."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"You're lucky you know." Godric found himself saying to his progeny as they still sat together on stage like they had been for the past few hours and watched Allison at the bar as she continued to talk with Pam and occasionally looked their way. Eric had been mesmerized by her, keeping his attention on her nearly the entire time, even when they had been talking. It was like he couldn't bear to tear his eyes away from her, like there was so much love coursing through him that it made the act of looking away impossible. It was obvious to anyone who looked at the two of them that they shared something so incredibly special, something that they all should be envious of. "Lucky that you have someone you love so much. And who also loves you back just as strongly."

"I do feel lucky and sometimes I even question whether or not I deserve her." Eric admitted, breaking the stare and looking at him seriously. "I mean, she's just so the opposite of me. She's actually kind and considerate with out having an agenda behind it or a motive to make it work in her favor. She's just a nice person. And I would just manipulate people to do what I want because that's what I always have done. She's nothing like what I deserve but for some reason she wants me and I'm a lucky man to have her."

"She's changed you in ways you don't know. I've seen it for myself and it warms my heart to know you are a better person because of her. And I love that you are able to love her back and not feel ashamed of it. It's truly wonderful." Godric told his child proudly. It was the ultimate boost to his pride to know a vampire he had created, who started out so vicious and full of hatred for the world had learned to love someone other then himself. It was just remarkable to know that love could have that kind of power. He looked at Eric and said. "I wish sometimes that I had what you have with Allison."

"Haven't you ever had anything close to that with anyone?" Eric questioned with a frown, his attention now fully on his maker as Godric almost smiled as an age old memory came to mind.

"Yes, I did have something close to that...and her name was Helen."

_"It's so beautiful out here under the full moon that I sometimes wish I was a vampire so I could only ever witness this beauty."_

_"Don't speak of such things." Godric frowned over at Helen, turning his head to look at her lying beside him under the moonlight,not a piece of clothing in sight as they had just finished making love for the second time that night and he was stunned by the way she managed to make him feel breathless even though he had no breath to take in. He placed his hand on her shoulder, moving her long blonde hair away before smiling. "Do no ever wish to be one of us. It is not the out come I would want for someone like you."_

_"But even you have to realize that our time together is temporary. I may be a Faerie and I may live hundreds of years, but eventually I will die because even the Fae are not meant to live forever." Helen told him gently, her fingers brushing against his jaw as she spoke and looked at him with a gentleness in her eyes. "We just have a longer life span then humans, but we are not as truly immortal as vampires. Our time does have a natural end."_

_"I don't wish to speak of an end, not when we are just at the beginning. I won't hear of it." Godric shook his head furiously, sitting up and looking out at the dark lake water in the distance. "We will enjoy whatever time we have together, no matter how fleeting it is. But never will you talk of being one of us. I don't want that fate for you."_

_"If it would keep us together forever..." Helen was silenced by his fingers against her lips, his actions so fast that she could even finish her argument._

_"I don't want you to become what I am." Godric explained, his hand moving down to cup her chin as he looked down on the woman he loved. "I don't want to see you turn into a monster."_

_"You're not a monster Godric, you are just a man I love. And that's all I see when I look at you." She said quietly, bring her body upright next to his and her hands touched his arms. "I love you and I don't want to be without you."_

_"You won't be, I promise you that." Godric spoke softly, bringing her forward into his arms so he could feel her against him. "When the time comes, if necessary, I will come and take you away with me. And we will bring Louie with us. We will be our own family."_

_"Is that what you believe our future holds?" Helen asked him, her lips caressing his neck as she turned her face upwards. "Do you really fear that my village will outcast you and Louie?"_

_"Maybe not anytime soon as we have proven ourselves to be trustworthy among the Fae, but the peace cannot be kept forever. Our races were never meant to mix. You know this." Godric reminded her of how very rare it was for vampires and Faeries to get along, let alone be as intimate as he had been with her. In fact it was frowned upon as it was more natural for the immortals to be hunting down Faeries rather then befriending them. But upon meeting Helen on a night like this, any thought he had of attacking a village of Faeries and draining them dry disappeared as easily as the sun. "Your family would not approve of your involvement with the vampires since it is so easy for things to turn bad."_

_"Perhaps they won't, maybe we could all live in peace with each other. Maybe we wouldn't have to run away." Helen began hopefully, her eyes lighting up as the idea took over. "You can't see what the future holds, it may never come to a battle amongst our kinds..."_

_"Nothing has to be done to set off a war, it's just a natural instinct in our world, vampire and Fae are not always going to be tolerant of each other and there is no sense in believing it will always be like that because it won't." Godric hated himself for dimming the light in her eyes, but he had to state the truth and that was it. "I wish it wasn't going to be like that, but it is inevitable."_

_"Then it may be our chance at remaining together for the time meant for us if we do go away and disappear. Then we will never have to see things turn bad." Helen reluctantly said, her face dropping at the mere mention of leaving. He knew she loved her family and talk of abandoning them was hurting her. _

_"I could never take you away against your will and I don't believe I could ask you to leave your family and your people behind just for me and Louie." Godric replied gently, stroking her hair back from her face. "I love you, but I know you love your family..."_

_"I love you. And if you asked me to run away with you, then I would follow you to the ends of the world and back." Helen whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "You and Louie ave all the pieces of my heart and for that, I would go with you two anywhere."_

_"We do not need to fear the future, as long as we have the present then that is all we need now." He stated, leaning forward and taking her face in his hands and kissed her waiting lips, feeling the love flow between them. "As long as we have each other in these moments, then nothing can drive us apart."_

_"You have my love Godric..."_

"You look like you had a good memory." Eric's voice brought him out of the flashback to find his child grinning at him knowingly. "Care to share?"

"I keep my memories of Helen to myself and that's how I prefer it." Godric couldn't help but smile at that moment. Normally thinking about Helen and their time together was painful because of her death so long ago, but for some reason tonight it was not hard at all. He looked at Eric and said. "But I will tell you this, I loved her like you love Allie."

"Then why don't you ever talk about her?" Eric wanted to know, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. "I've heard her name, but you never speak of her. And if you loved her the same way I love Allie, then why have we never discussed it."

"Maybe at some point we will." Godric shrugged, knowing he would have to talk about it. There had been enough time where he hadn't spoken about Helen, but right now he couldn't do it. "But for the moment, things are best left unsaid."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"I am so glad to finally be going home." I said to Eric later that night as we drove together down the highway towards our house and I sat back against the black leather seats and sighed in relief. "I swear to God, I was about ready to slap Pam for taking advantage of my new ability. Do you know she was purposely thinking naughty things just to get a reaction out of me?"

"I guess I taught her well over the years." Eric's face twitched into a smile as his hands clutched the wheel tightly, obviously he was amused by this. "Care to fill me in on some of those naughty things?"

"Oh you would just love that wouldn't you?" I turned in my seat to look at him with a smirk. "You do not need any more sexual thoughts in your head then you already have. Trust me."

"I'll just command Pam to tell me, simple as that." Eric shrugged, smiling in triumph like he has won some big prize with that statement. "Oh this will be a fun end to the night for me."

"Every night is a fun night for you." I rolled my eyes, feeling more enjoyment from this meaningless conversation then I had from anything else so far. "But I do have to admit that it wasn't an entirely bad idea to come out with you. I kind of liked it."

"I knew you would." He retorted with a laugh, sounding very much like his old self in that moment and hearing that made me go silent and just look at him for a moment. There was something about the way he looked when he laughed that just melted my heart and I felt a huge surge of love for him just then. He must have sensed the upswing in my heart beat because he turned his head to look at me as he inquired. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"No reason." I said, looking ahead at the road as it went by and found comfort in the easy silence that fell between us. Most people, myself included didn't do too well when things were this quiet and if it had been with anyone else then I would have felt the need to break it. But with Eric it was alright and I was at ease for the first time in a while. I was just sitting back with my eyes closed when I felt Eric's fingers brush against mine and capture my hand. I looked at him and said "Eric..."

"I love you." He said it so sincerely and so out of nowhere that I couldn't help but feel tears well up in my eyes and as soon as he knew that, he immediately pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park. He grabbed my face in his hands and asked. "What did I do now?"

"You told me you love me. I feel like we haven't said that enough lately that sometimes it feels like the first time." I replied, feeling stupid that I was getting so emotional over this but I couldn't help it. I was touched by this and how genuine he was being. "And you just say it so randomly that it took me by surprise, that's all."

"I just...i think it's important that you know that." He answered with a shake of his head like he didn't see what the big deal was. "I know I don't always show it so I need to make a better point of saying it. I love you."

"I love you too Eric. Now and forever."


	16. How much is too much

**Chapter 16 How much is too much**

"You're just asking for trouble tonight aren't you?"

"Godric, I have no idea what you mean." I said innocently to the vampire standing next to me as we entered through the dark doorway of Fangtasia and entered the crowded room of the bar, while dozens of pairs of eyes flickered towards us with interest. "There's not going to be any trouble tonight."

"Why do I believe that will never be entirely true?" He asked, a smirk appearing on his lips that told me he was more amused then worried about me causing trouble. He looked me over again like he had done when we first stepped out of the car and shook his head. "You show up at a vampire bar looking like that and expect nothing to happen? You really are naïve."

"What are you saying? That I look too hot?" I raised my eyebrows at him, trying to stop the fit of laughter that was rising up inside of me as he looked as if he wanted to blush had he been able to. "Careful Godric, I don't think Eric would approve of you thinking I look hot."

"You do look...extraordinarily beautiful tonight." He nodded to back up his sentiment as he looked over the all black clothing I had chosen to wear and shrugged. "And remind me again why you decided to show up like this."

"Oh just for the simple fact to prove that I can still tease him if I wanted to." I grinned, looking down at the tight dark jeans and lacy black camisole I was wearing under my near skin tight leather jacket and smiled even more. Eric was never going to be able to get this image out of his head. Especially since I knew just how much he loved it when I dressed sexier then how I normally did. I teetered slightly, due to the highness of the strappy heels on my feet and looked across the room towards the stage area. If possible, my grin got even brighter. "Speak of the devil..."

I knew Eric loved me and I knew when he looked at me that he was attracted to me physically. But the look that came over his face the moment our eyes met across the crowd floor was entirely different then any other time. Those times he had been staring had been more innocent and chaste. And this, this was pure lust and desire burning into my eyes, causing my face to flush as I watched him rise up out of his chair and get down off the stage to the floor. I could practically hear the animalistic growl coming from him as the humans and vampires parted to make a path for him and when I saw him coming towards me, I felt breathless and shaky, almost like I was a teenager again. Godric took one look at us and took off for a booth on the opposite side of the room, where I would join him in a bit, but right now all my focus was on the vampire in front of me who was staring at me so hungrily, that I was certain had there not been a crowd of people around, then he would have thrown me on the floor and had his way.

"What do you think you are doing showing up here like that?" Eric demanded once he was right up in front of me and immediately grabbed my by the arms possessively. I looked up at his face and despite the tone in his voice, his eyes said he was pleased by my appearance as I knew he would be. "Are you you purposely trying to attract the attention of every vampire in this establishment?"

"No, just one vampire in particular." I smirked, reaching up to lay my hand flat against his chest while our eyes met. "Do you like how I look Mr. Northman?"

"There's too much of your delicious skin showing and yet...you're still wearing too many clothes." Eric's true nature was showing through at that moment, the desire was taking over his face as he moved his hand up and ran a finger across the skin above the neck of my camisole, making a flurry of butterflies erupt in my stomach. "You look scrumptious."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Especially coming from you." I didn't even notice the eyes of everyone on us as I gently touch his strong jaw, resisting the urge to stand up on my toes to kiss him. Even in heels, Eric still towered over me. "I just wanted to say hello and now I'm going to..."

"You're not going anywhere except back to the office with me." Eric had a devilish grin on his face as he took me by the hand and started tugging me away towards the door next to the bar, but I dug my heels in and resisted. This forced him to stop as he couldn't cause a scene in his own bar and he turned to look over his shoulder at me with a frown. "Is there a reason you are stopping me?"

"There's always a reason, you can't disappear when you have a business to run. It won't be very professional if the owner runs off so early into the night." I pointed out as I leaned against the bar, his body moving so it pressed against mine as if trying to convince me to change my mind. "You should get back to that stage, you don't want to deny your fans your presence for a second longer."

"I don't want you to deny me a second longer." Eric shot back, his mouth lingering close to my ear as his hand slipped around behind me and up the back of my jacket so his fingers could get under my top. "Come on, we can have so much..."

"Fun? Yea, I know that. Trust me, I have been thinking about it a lot lately." I admitted, blushing as the memories of what I had been thinking about came back to me. It had been a while since I had fantasized about Eric and now that it has begun again, I was feeling more like my old self. Because the old Allison felt like this, the old me had always felt this insane attraction to this beautiful man in front of me and knowing I still had a connection to that girl made me happier then I thought I could be. I ran my hand down from Eric's face, passed his long back and then over his gorgeously shaped butt, my movements making a growl escape from deep inside of him that made me grin as I pulled away. "Go back to work Eric, and maybe later we will enjoy ourselves."

"You are so incredibly frustrating and if I didn't love you so much then I would just ignore your orders and keep on dragging you out of here." Eric said to me, his hands curling into themselves as he spoke, showing that he really did not like being teased. "But I refuse to cause a scene in my own bar. Just know that when I get home, I am tying you down and you won't be getting away any time soon."

"Now that will be fun." I retorted with a slight giggle, trying not to show how affected I was by his words, but I could feel his emotions loud and clear through our bond and that meant he could feel mine as well. I backed away from him just as he turned back to the sage and before he got too far away, I called out to him one more time. "You look hot tonight Eric, don't think I haven't noticed."

I turned away before he could respond and hurried through the crowd towards the booth where Godric was waiting for me. I felt the jealous looks from humans and vampires alike but I barely even felt bothered by it as I reached the table and slide into the seat across from Godric and shrugged out of my jacket. He turned towards me with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes that said he had witnessed everything that had just happened.

"You are so bad." Godric said with a slight twitch of his lips as we both turned to look at the stage where Eric had reclaimed his seat and was now staring at me with what could only be described as fire in his eyes. But that was nothing to what was coming through our bond and with Godric being Eric's maker, it meant he too could feel it. Godric looked back at me at the same time I looked at him and pressed his hands to his temples. "You're going to to drive him crazy."

"That's the idea."

* * *

><p><em><span>25 minutes later<span>_

"He's still staring at you." Godric pointed out to me almost half an hour later as we remained at our table with a bottle of true blood in his hand and a glass of wine in mine while he looked off into the crowd where I couldn't see. "I think you're getting to him."

"Good. That's just the reaction I wanted." I smiled in triumphant, taking a dainty sip from my glass and looked across the table at my best friend who was watching me with the biggest smile on his face. It made me set down my wine and ask. "What? Why are you looking at me like that for?"

"Nothing. It's just nice to see you acting like your old self. I miss seeing that side of you." Godric admitted, reaching across the table and squeezed my hand gently for the first time in what felt like forever. Ever since we had discovered that I could read their minds, Godric had avoided touching me if he could help it. I don't think he did it to hurt me, but did it more for the fact that he didn't want to risk me reading his mind and hearing something that was personal to him. So now that he was willingly reaching out to me, it made me happy and I squeezed his fingers back in return. "You have been gone for a long time, even in the moments when you came back to us, you weren't all there. And now you are starting to get back to that. And if I had a heart, it would be warmed by this."

"You do have a heart Godric, whether it beats or not." I stated, reminding him exactly of the way I viewed him and it wasn't as the monster he still sometimes thought he was. I knew him well enough by now to know that he didn't always hold himself in as high esteem as I did. Sure he made mistakes and we fought and disagreed about certain things, but he had still been the best of friends to me and that's all I cared about. It didn't matter who he use to be, it matter who he was now. I looked him in the eye and said. "If you didn't still have some resemblance of a heart, then you wouldn't have stuck around after everything that has happened this year. Face it, you're not the bad guy you claim to be."

"That's because you know the person I have been for the past few hundred years, a thousand years ago I was a completely different vampire." He said, a dark look passing over his face to back up his claim. I knew there had to have been a part of his past that did not match up to his present, but it was hard for me to imagine a bad or dark Godric. It just wasn't possible, but I had barely known him for a year, so there was plenty of things I had no idea about. "Everyone has a dark part of their past and me being as old as I am, I have alot of them. And I would rather not revisit that."

"I understand." I did understand, perhaps more then he thought I did. I had my own bad memories and situations to overcome so I could see where he was coming from. "I won't push it but I..."

I would have continued finishing my sentence had my attention not been pulled away by a pair of eyes that had been turned on me suddenly. I could feel them studying me and not in a way that I liked. My first thought was that it was Eric, but I knew what his stare felt like and it wasn't him. Instead it was a young girl standing by the bar with brown hair and green eyes, who had her eyes on me in this intense sort of way like she thought she recognized me but I was certain that I had never seen her. And now I was curious as to why she thought she knew me. I looked back at her just as intensely and with barely more then a push, I was in her mind...

_"Hmmm...that girl looks kind of like me..."_

_"I wonder if...could she be like one of the others?"_

_"I know he fed on a lot of girls, but I never met another one he had been with. I'm curious if she could be one of them..."_

_"She's looking at me like she knows what I'm thinking...she has to be a girl Eric Northman was with..."_

"Allison? Allison, what's the matter?" Godric's voice quickly broke me out of the girl's head and pulled me back out to the noisy present where he was staring at me with a wrinkle in his pale forehead. "What's wrong?"

"That...that girl over by the end of the bar was just staring at me like she knew who I was. So I read her mind and..." I also frowned at that moment, never once thinking about what it would be like to encounter one of the many women Eric had confessed to being with for blood. It just never crossed my mind and now that there was one in the same bar as me, I didn't quite know how to react. "She's one of the girls Eric fed on, you know when I was still dead. She's one of the many and she thinks I'm in the ranks too."

"Obviously she is mistaken, you should just ignore her and let it go." Godric told me in that calm tone he used whenever a situation need to be diffused and this was one of them. "Don't allow yourself to be...what are you doing?"

"I am going to go over and make it known I am not one of those tramp girls Eric picked off the streets. I'm his fucking future wife damn it!" I hadn't even realized I had risen up out of my seat until Godric's hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back down. I sent him a glare and demanded. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You look half ready to stomp over there and confront her and I don't think it will be by talking." Godric's grip didn't lessen as he spoke and in fact he kept his hand on me for what I could tell would be a while just to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. "Do you honestly think starting a fight in the middle of a vampire bar is the smartest idea?"

"I never said it was smart, I just think it would be satisfying." I furiously whispered, looking around him at the girl who had turned away from me and was talking to a male vampire who had appeared at her side. I wanted so badly to walk up and slap her across the face just for simply being with Eric, even if it was only for blood. It still infuriated me. But Godric was right, inciting violence in a room filled with vampires was not going to go over well. I reluctantly relaxed and even more reluctantly said. "Fine, you may be right about that, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

"Of course you're not, you're jealous of any woman that has been with the man you love. It's nothing to be ashamed about." Godric assured me, his face lighting up with something akin to pride as his fingers remained wrapped around my arm. "But that doesn't mean resorting to a fight with a complete stranger is the way to take out that jealousy."

"Ok, ok. I get your point. I will behave myself." I told him as sincerely as I could. I knew I couldn't go and punch the girl in the face but I still wanted to oh so much. I was only human after all. But I had to remain logical or else trouble could ensue. And I had enough trouble to last me more then a few lifetimes. "You can relax Godric. I won't do anything crazy."

"We'll see how long that lasts."

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

"So I think we need to have a talk." Godric said quietly as he stepped up on stage and took a seat next to his child who turned to look at him with a guarded look that already said he thought he was in trouble. Godric would have laughed if what he came to talk to Eric about wasn't so serious. "It's about Allison."

"Oh dear god, she hasn't run off again has she?" Eric demanded, on the verge of rising from his chair as his eyes darted around the room for the familiar brunette but she was no where in sight. "Where is she?"

"She's in the bathroom, so calm down before you make a scene." Godric explained, placing his hand on his progeny's arm like he had done with Allison and applied force so Eric didn't go shooting out into the crowd. "I just want to talk to you about your actions before she was resurrected."

"Why are you bringing that up?" Eric asked, his eyes filling with suspicion as they hadn't spoken about that time in a while. "What does that have to do with now and Allison?"

"Because Allison saw and read the mind of one of the girls you fed on. And she was jealous, extremely jealous." Godric told him, flashing back to the moment he saw the look on Allison's face when she realized who she was looking at. It was a look he had never seen on her before and it amazed him that someone as innocent and as sweet as Allison could look at another person the way she had. Like she would stop at nothing to make sure that other girl never thought of Eric again. Allison was just as territorial as Eric was, she was just more subtle about it. "I've never seen her like that before. I'm sure you felt it."

"Oh I certainly did, but you seemed to have the situation under control, so I just sat back and watched." Eric seemed oddly amused by this and not at all worried that it could have evolved into something more then what it had. "So...my girl was jealous was she? Excellent."

"You approve of her jealousy? You find it pleasing?" Godric shouldn't have been surprised by Eric's response but he was. He thought that with everything that had happened lately, that Eric would want to avoid making Allison feel any sort of big emotion and jealousy was certainly a big one. "Why would you enjoy seeing that?"

"Because it means she is getting even more closer to her old self then before." Eric turned his head to the side, his blue eyes bearing down on him with a playful sparkle as he spoke. "If she is open to feeling rage and jealousy then she is on the road to recovering from this whole resurrection business and the other stuff. If she can allow herself to feel that, then she is like her old self again. And that's a good thing."

"I guess you are right." Godric agreed, seeing where his child was coming from because it actually did make sense. Allison never would have felt this much jealousy and emotion if she hadn't been feeling like her normal self. But it still didn't put him completely at ease. "But she also looked like she was getting ready to fight that girl. And that wouldn't be the best thing to happen when the bar is full of more vampires then humans."

"You seriously worry too much." Eric chuckled, his hands resting lightly on the arm of his throne like chair. "There is no way a fight will happen. I guarantee you that."

"You didn't see her face, you don't know how serious she was about going over to that girl and hitting her. Heck, she even admitted she wanted to do it." Godric shot back, looking around the crowds of humans and vampires and just barely spotted Allison as she left the line by the wall and entered the bathroom, disappearing from sight. "You have to be careful with your actions now because they are coming back to haunt you."

"I get what you're telling me and I respectfully say that you are out of your mind." Eric retorted with a grin, still not taking the moment with all the consideration it should have deserved. "You have to realize something. This is Allison we are talking about, she's not about to start a cat fight with anyone. It's not her."

"I still think you need to be concerned about this. You were with a lot of women and now she has met one of them. I don't think you should take this so lightly." Godric pointed out, running his fingers through his hair as he watched his progeny. "Jealousy does crazy things to people and women take it worse then you do."

"Like I said, it's not like her to start a fight...and I refuse to be worried."

* * *

><p><em><span>2 minutes later<span>_

"What an odd night so far." I mumbled to myself as I came out of the bathroom stall and headed over the sinks to wash my hands and fix my hair. This was the first time I had really been alone all night. When the sun had set, Eric had been by my side until he had to leave for work and then it had been Godric who stayed with me up through when I decided to come here to tease and taunt Eric with my sexiness. And since I got in line for the bathroom, it had been the only few minutes I had without either of them somewhere super close by. And although I loved them both, it was nice to have just a few moments alone.

I was just drying my hands off and looking into the mirror to run my fingers through my slightly messy hair when another stall opened and another figure came to the sinks at the other end from me. On any other occasion, I wouldn't have given a stranger in the bathroom another glance, but I just so happened to look up at her reflection and nearly did a double take. It was the girl from by the bar who had been staring at me earlier. She was standing right there only 4 feet away and now she was staring back at me through the mirror. I felt my mouth drop open as my hands fell away from my hair and I turned to look at her face on.

"You." My voice sounded strained and irritated right off the bat as this girl whose only resemblance to me was our hair and eye color. Other then that, we did not share any other physical traits and by the way she looked at me, I could just tell she wasn't a very nice person. "You've been staring at me all night. And now I come into the bathroom and you just suddenly happen to be in here at the same time?"

"Fine you caught me, I was waiting to talk to you and this was the only time I could get you alone." She said, leaning against the sink with one hand on the edge while the other was on her hip. "I have to ask. Are you..."

"No I am not one of the tramps that Eric picked up to feed on so don't even assume that I am for one damn minute." I could barely contain myself as my anger suddenly flared up within those first few seconds. I couldn't help myself, the thought of Eric feeding on anyone but me was driving me crazy. And now being confronted by one of those women was even more maddening. And it took all I had not to lash out right then and there. I refused to stoop down to that level and I did not want to disappoint Godric by starting a fight. "I'm the one he loves and is going to be with forever and..."

"Forever? Ha! That's funny, especially when it comes to the same vampire who was with plenty of other women besides me." The other brunette smirked at me, as if she knew just how much of an affect her words were having on me. "You do know I wasn't the only..."

"Yes, I know he was with others, but that was a while ago and it won't happen again. So don't even think that it will." I felt my fists curl up tightly and my face felt hot but I held on to my composure. I could do this. I could make sure this girl knew her place without actually laying a hand on her. "He's with me and he doesn't want to be with any one else."

"We are talking about the same vampire right?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in such a way that it did not warrant an answer. "He doesn't seem like the type that could be happy with just one woman. And especially not with one who looks so naïve in the way of making a man happy."

"You don't know him and you don't know me. So shut up." I turned back to the mirror, glaring at my reflection as if this was the other girl. "Eric is perfectly happy with me."

"Is that so? Then why did he have to go to so many other women while you were gone?" She asked, a devious smile playing on her lips as she stepped closer to me. "He didn't say much but he did tell me he was miserable..."

"He was depressed, you moron." I snapped, whipping back around to glare at the brunette. "He wasn't miserable in our relationship, he was miserable because I was gone and you know shit about that."

"I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Either way, we still had a great time." She said this in an almost sing song kind of voice,a s if remembering that time was a joy for her. "He is so incredibly sexy when he is feeding. Oh those sounds he makes are just to die for..."

"Shut up." I felt my hands curl up again. The anger starting to boil.

"He gets kind of mean when I talk, but feeling him behind me when he bites into my neck more then makes up for it. It was extremely satisfying."

"Are you deaf? I said shut up." I was closing my eyes at this point hoping that if I didn't see her then maybe I could deal with her until I could find the will to move.

"No, you know what was even more satisfying that I bet he didn't tell you about?...the mind blowing sex...now that was pretty damn great..."

I lost it at that moment. And all thoughts of keeping calm and staying true to my word to Godric went out the door as I raised my hand and slapped the girl as hard as I could across the face, sending her flying backwards against the wall while I smiled in triumphant. It didn't last long and I didn't even get a chance to move towards the doorway before she came at me and rammed her fist against the side of my head. I gritted my teeth as a throbbing pain erupted across the surface of my skull, causing me to wonder how a girl could punch that hard. I didn't even dwell on it as I too charged back at her, grabbing her messy hair in my fists and tried to throw her down to the floor. But she was a lot stronger then me and it showed when she took back control and yanked her hair back out of my grasp and tossed me to the floor. The sudden fall to the tiles stole the breath from my lungs and left me dizzy and unable to focus for a few seconds. And by the time I got my vision back, the girl was on top of me and I barely was able scream an insult at her before she hit me again, this time drawing blood down the side of my face. I didn't even think to use my powers, because I could have killed her so easily. But I wasn't backing off, she pushed me beyond my limit and now she was going to pay. I somehow managed to roll her off me and scramble to my feet, just in time for her to rush at me and grab me around the neck. I tried to get away but her hold was tight and I couldn't dodge the fists she was throwing at my head and face. I could already feel a bruise forming around both my eyes and tried to elbow her in the midsection, but all she did was shout and didn't let go...

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?" Eric's voice suddenly came into the room and before I could get another hit in, I felt his hands grab me by the waist and tug me away just as the other girl's arms were pulled off of me and she too was yanked away by Godric. Eric pushed me against the wall away from where the brunette stood and I could practically see the fire coming out of his eyes as he looked at me. "Do I even have to ask if you are out of your fucking mind?"

"She's a slut!" I snapped, looking around him at the brunette who was struggling in Godric's arms,glaring at me so darkly that I knew if she had been held back by a human, then she would be out and attacking me again too. "She was..."

"I don't give a shit about what she was doing. You were in fight in the bathroom of my bar. Do you know what could have happened?" Eric said this with such rage that I knew what he was referring too. I could have easily lost control and used my abilities on this girl and she would have ended up dead and he would have to deal with that. A dead human at a vampire bar, he would surely go out of business if that had happened. Eric looked back at Godric and nodded to the door. "Get her out of here."

Godric took the girl, kicking and snapping out of the room and left Eric and I alone to glare at each other. I knew why he was mad and pissed off but he had no idea that I now knew the real truth about what had gone on while I had been dead. And as I stared into those eyes, I wondered whether he was ever going to tell me.

"Is it true?" I asked when I had finally gained the ability to speak to him and surprised myself when I was able to sound somewhat calmer then I had just seconds ago. "She said she slept with you. Is that true?"

"Yes." Eric did not deny it like I thought he was going to. His face registered his shock at being confronted by this but he didn't try and act like it was something he hadn't done. It was like the last time, he knew he couldn't lie his way out of it, so he wasn't going to waste time in trying. "Yes I slept with her."

"Ok, then." I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a heaviness hit me in the chest and for a moment I couldn't breathe properly. I knew Eric had been with other women while I was gone, but I couldn't believe he had actually slept with someone else. Here I was tonight, trying to be sexy and seductive to make him want me again and I find out he was with some other woman before I came back. That hurt me. But not as badly as it would hurt when I needed something else confirmed. "And the other 44 women...did you have sex with them too?"

"Yes." Eric's answer was short and to the point as if he knew that anything more then that would make the situation worse, as if that was possible. "That's the real truth. I didn't just feed on these women, I slept with each and every one of them."

"You did what?" Godric was back in the bathroom and he had apparently just overheard Eric's last confession and was looking just as disappointed as I felt. He glared at Eric in a way I had never seen before and said. "You slept with those women? You said you only wanted blood from them. But you had sex as well? How could you lie about that?"

"It was a crazy time and I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, I just did it." Eric snapped, already on the defensive as he let me go and turned to look at his maker. "I didn't know my mistakes were going to come back and haunt me..."

"Well they did and I hope you enjoyed yourself because you wont be getting anything from me now." I hissed, but instead of sounded annoyed and mean, I just sounded like I was being choked by my own tears. And a few seconds later my vision blurred over and I was crying like a baby in front of these two vampires. I looked and averted my gaze past Eric. "Godric? Can you take me home please?"

"Yes." Godric reached out with his hand and when I took it, he pulled me away from Eric and led me out of the room. Eric didn't even try and stop us.

I didn't say a word to Godric as we reentered the busy main floor, I could only think of Eric. How could he not tell me the entire truth about what he did? How could he leave out the most important thing, only for me to find out on a whim tonight? How much did he expect me to take without acting out?

How much was too much?

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

Godric didn't end up driving me home after all, Eric did. I don't know how he convinced Godric that it was better that he do it, but somehow it happened because Eric appeared in the driver's seat next to me and started the car without saying a word to me. I stayed silent as well against the window, pressing a washcloth to the bleeding wound on the side of my head as we drove down the empty highway, both of us absorbed in our own thoughts. At least until he tried to break the silence.

"Are you going to say anything to me for the rest of the night? Even though I wasn't the only one who made a mistake here? You got into a fight at the bar and drew blood. You messed up too. Are you going to say anything at all?" He asked, and I could tell by the way his voice was directed at me that he had turned his head look at me, but I didn't meet his eyes. I just stayed leaning against the glass with my eyes plastered to the road in front of me. When I didn't answer, Eric growled quietly in frustration and grumbled. "I guess that's the answer."

I didn't know what he expected me to say after what had just happened not even half an hour ago. It was like he thought he could confirm sleeping with almost 50 women when I thought it had only been about the blood and then he expected me to just talk to him normally as if I had never found that out. He was nuts and out of his mind if he thought I was just going to be able to speak to him at all, even though I actually wanted to. I wanted to understand why he felt the need to not tell me everything. I mean, it wasn't all that long ago when I was asking him to confirm what I had heard in his head and he had no problem doing that. And that had been the perfect opportunity for him to cop to sleeping with those girls as well. Yes, I still would have been upset but at least it would have been because he was trying to be honest with me. This was much worse because he had tried to keep it a secret and I had found out so randomly that it stung even more. I mean, I wish there hadn't been anything to find out, but I would have rather been told by him then to find out from some shank who followed me into the bath room. I thought we had an understanding about being truthful to each other, but I guess he misheard the lines I was drawing.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I found myself asking, my voice coming out so quietly that if he had been human he wouldn't have heard me. But his vampire senses picked it up and I turned to look at him the same time he looked at me. "Why didn't you say anything about sleeping with those girls when we were talking about it the other night?"

"Honestly?..." He asked, taking a second to pull off to the shoulder of the road and put the car in park before just sitting there, staring straight ahead at the dark highway and in the darkness I watched him shrug. "The only reason I didn't admit the whole truth was because I thought I could get away with it. And I didn't want to have to tell you just how much I had screwed up when you were gone."

"Is that really it? Or are you just making up an excuse to spare my feelings?" I asked, pressing the towel so hard against my head that the bleeding got worse, but I didn't let Eric heal me. Now was not the time. "Do you want to be with other girls? Am I ever going to be enough for you?"

"I only did what I did because I had lost you and I wanted to feel like you were still there. So I slept with them, because they looked like you and it comforted me." He confessed, his eyes still looking ahead and never drifting to me like he thought his stare might end up bringing me to tears again. "I don't want those girls. I just want you."

"I don't know why, it's not like I have the experience that these other women have. It wasn't all that long ago when I was still a virgin. I could never keep you happy forever." I said quietly, feeling my eyes well up with the tears I had been fighting the entire car ride. The girl's words about not being able to keep Eric happy were coming back to me and they had planted seeds of doubts in my mind where there had been none before. I looked at him just as the tears ran down my face. "Maybe you should be with other women, hundreds of women. Maybe you want that more then me. Maybe that will make you happier."

"I don't want a hundred a women, I just want one and that's you." He turned to look at me finally and when he saw the tears, he immediately frowned as he always did. "If I have you then I will be happy forever. I will be satisfied forever. And that's something I have no doubt about."

"But I do..." I admitted, lifting my gaze to look into his eyes. "I doubt that you want this, that you want me forever, even if you did propose at one point. It's different now and things have changed. Maybe your feelings for me have changed as well. And if that's the case then just tell me so I can..."

"Nothing has changed. Do you hear me? Nothing has changed at all." Eric pulled my hand away from my head and took my face between his hands. "I still love you and I definitely still want to be with you forever. I promise you I wouldn't still be here if that wasn't what I truly wanted."

"I'm going to need convincing, because you've given me your word before and its ended in a lie. So I can't really take your promises to heart right now." I told him honestly, pulling away from his hands and picked up the towel. "I did mess up tonight by getting into a fight, but I never tried to hide that from you. You however did and that hurts worse then what I found out. So your word is shit at the moment. And if you want me to not doubt you when you say you love me, then prove it."

"How am I suppose to do that?" He asked, looking furious and disappointed that I had pulled away from him and he didn't reach out for me again and just asked. "How do I prove to you that I don't want anyone but you?"

"I don't know...but you're a smart guy Eric, you'll figure it out."

**A/N: So Allie got into a cat fight...and eric's little fun activities come out of the wood work...how on earth is he going to fix this one? it will be tough but he eventually puts effort into it...but in the next chapter, allie takes control and decides to make eric feel what she was feeling. Stay tuned, things really pick up in the near future**


	17. Jumping out, jumping in

**Chapter 17 Jumping out, jumping in**

_The next night_

I was sitting on the steps leading down to Eric's resting area, waiting for him to wake up and as I sat there in the near dark with only a flashlight to provide visibility, I went over what had occurred at Fangtasia 24 hours ago and it still chilled me to the bone. I still found it hard to believe that he had slept with the women he had just claimed to feed on, but when I woke up this morning, alone in my bed, I knew last night had really and truly happened. Eric wasn't anywhere in the room and that was my own doing. After we had come home and it was nearing dawn, I had told him to come down here while I stayed in the room. I didn't want to be anywhere near him for a while and that was why we had been separated for this long. It also meant that I went through the day in a great amount of pain as I hadn't allowed Eric to heal me and I woke up with both my eyes surrounded by almost black bruises and a severely throbbing cut on the side of my head that looked worse then it was. But the pain was manageable as I had worse injuries before this that I had survived and the pain wasn't on the top of the list of things I was thinking about. I was still entirely too focused on what I found out and had spent almost the whole night thinking about how we were going to get through this and I had come to a solution that maybe wasn't the best idea, but the outcome could be what we both needed.

"What are you doing down here?" Eric's voice broke me out of my mind haze and I looked up to see him standing before me in the open doorway that I hadn't even realized he had come out of until he had spoken. "You said you never wanted to be underground again after what happened to you. And after last night, I thought you would want to avoid me."

"I considered it but then I realized I have done that before and it has never really gotten me any progress. So I did some thinking last night and today and I think we need to talk." I made sure to keep my voice calm, not wanting a repeat of last night's tears and I was surprised when I was able to pull it off. Perhaps I was maturing and was able to compose myself better. I looked up at Eric from my spot on the stairs and said honestly. "I'm jealous. I'm so extremely jealous that all those women got to be with you and I didn't. And I'm mad that you could get over your feelings for me so quickly and jump right into so many intimate situations."

"I wasn't trying to get over my feelings for you, I was trying to get over my grief." Eric shot back, the defensive tone already present in his voice this early into the conversation. He crossed his arms and leaned sideways against the door frame and said. "I don't know how many times I have to explain that to you."

"And I don't know how many times I have to tell you why I'm upset before you get it. You don't understand why I'm jealous and that's what is so frustrating." I told him, knowing he could feel the rumbling of emotion through our bond because I saw him very visibly roll his eyes. "And the only way for you to get where I'm coming from is to make you feel the same way."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Eric's face showed the depth of his skepticism and if anything that drove me even more nuts. It was like he didn't believe there was a way for someone like me to possibly make him jealous, even though I had done so in the past. He probably thought this time was different, but he was in for a seriously rude awakening.

"I'll tell you exactly what I plan on doing. And it's not something you will like at all." I smirked as I said this knowing full well that it was going to intrigue him and possibly drive him just as nuts as he was driving me. But it was nothing compared to what I was about to say. "I'm going to spend a few hours with Louie tonight."

"Uh, no you won't." Eric immediately shot down the idea, his face taking on a dark look that even I could see in this limited lighting. He stood up straight in the doorway, his arms going down to his sides as he sent a glare at me. "You're not going to hang out with a strange vampire. I won't allow it."

"You won't allow it? What are you my father?" I felt a frown take over my face and I actually got to my feet out of annoyance to stare at him straight on. "You can't tell me what I can and cannot do. I'm your girlfriend and future wife damn it. That doesn't give you the right to tell me no just because you hate the idea."

"You're right, you will be my wife someday and that gives me the right to voice my opinion on any crazy ass idea you come up with." He snapped, stepping forward just as I took a step up. "You're not going to be spending the night with Louie, it's not going to happen."

"First off, I am not spending the night with him, so don't even think that way." I was the one to roll my eyes this time. It was stupid for him to ever think I could be with another man or vampire in the same way I was with him. I wasn't going to lie, Louie was attractive and charming. But I loved Eric and never wanted to be intimate with anyone else besides him, even if I did find other people attractive. "And secondly, he is my friend and I have every right to see him if I want to."

"I don't care if he is your friend, I don't want you to see him." Eric growled, his fists tightening up as I moved up the staircase slowly, his eyes still on me. "You've been running off to see him a lot lately and..."

"Oh my god, you are jealous aren't you?" I asked, satisfaction coming over me as I looked into his eyes and saw that exact emotion displayed there even as he appeared to be trying to fight it off. "You are so jealous over me hanging out with another gorgeous vampire..."

"Of course I'm jealous!" Eric exclaimed, his voice echoing loudly in the narrow stairwell and it went right through me while he stepped up after me. He stopped when he was on the plank below me and still he was able to look down on me, his eyes flaming with an unbridled possessive nature. "You are mine, no one else gets to share you."

"Interesting choice of words." I told him as I turned around and walked up the remaining steps to the open doorway and looked back down to where he stood in the darkness. "Now you know how I feel."

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

"Do you mind explaining why the hell you look the way you do?" Louie's voice came at me through the darkness just as I stepped into a nearby clearing lit up by moonlight and spotted the 2000 year old vampire just inside the tree line, his face twisted in concern.

I had left the house only 15 minutes earlier, taking right to the woods because I knew Louie was in there somewhere. He had always been in the times I had come across him, so I knew it wouldn't have been long until he showed up. Eric had provided no resistance to the idea after I rubbed it in his face that he was getting jealous and much to my surprise, when I walked out the door, his face remained blank and unemotional. It was like he didn't care, but I knew he did because I could feel his blood boiling through our bond so furiously that there was no blocking it from me. I could have turned back, could have run back into the house and into his arms and stayed with him for the rest of the night. But I didn't. I couldn't go back to him without at least first making my point, or else he would never truly understand why I had been so affected by his revelation from last night. I knew he was watching me as I went into the woods at the edge of the property but he didn't call out to me and soon it was just me and the sound of my footsteps on the fallen leaves were the only sound amongst the trees. It continued that way until I came to a break deep in the heart of the forest and came to a stop, and that was when Louie's voice came out of nowhere as he took in my appearance.

"It's ok, I'm ok." I assured him, watching as he stepped into the clearing and made his way towards me, looking as concerned as he would have been had we known each other for years instead of the handful of times we had spent together. I watched his hands reach for my face and I quickly said. "It's not as bad as it looks. Really..."

"Not as bad as it looks?" Louie's sounded sarcastic as he took my face in his hands and turned my head from side to side as if studying every inch of my injuries. "You have two black eyes and a barely closed wound on the side of your head. You can't possibly stand there and say its no big deal."

"I'm not saying it's no big deal, I'm just saying that it looks worse then it feels. So no cause for alarm." I told him, feeling slightly touched that even in the limited time we knew each other, he cared enough to get worried when I show up looking like I have been through battle. "And before you jump to any conclusions, Eric did not beat me up. I got into a fight with another girl at his bar. And this was the end result."

"But you're so sweet and innocent..." Louie looked at me in disbelief as if it were that truly unbelievable that I could get into a fight with someone who wasn't threatening my life. He dropped his hands from me and stepped back, an almost amused look on his pale young face. "And judging by your face, it's probably a good thing you don't get into cat fights all that often. You did not come out of this one all too well."

"You're telling me." I grumbled, running my fingers lightly across the bruises surrounding my eyes and winced. "I'm a fucking full blooded Faerie and I nearly got beat to a pulp by a human."

"You had to have put yourself through that for a reason. Because it's obvious you're not a fist fighter and yet you tried to get the upper hand and I just wonder why." Louie cocked his head to the side, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "I have a feeling it is directly related to the reason why you are out here in the woods again."

"Let's just say I found out about Eric's little activities while I had been dead and gone for those 2 months and my reaction was not exactly ideal." I groaned, my face scrunching up in remembrance before I shook it away. "You see, I was under the impression that when he was with other women while I was dead, it was just to feed on them. And then last night, I met one of those girls at the bar and she told me he had not only fed on her but they had slept together. And that's where the fight broke out, right in the bathroom. And when I confronted Eric about it, he not only confirmed her but that he also had slept with all the girls he fed on. And since then we have barely spoken, which is obvious since I didn't let him heal me."

"Well you certainly had an...exciting night." Louie almost cracked a smile as he said this but he beat back into a more neutral expression. "And while I don't approve of what he did, I have to say that I understand why he has done it."

"I'm sorry, I must have hallucinated because that sounded a lot like you were taking his side." I looked at Louie hard, trying to figure out if this was a joke of some sort but he was looking back at me completely serious and that threw me for a loop. "You agree with him?"

"It's not so much agreeing as he and I are two different vampires. It's more like I get his way of thinking." Louie explained, motioning for me to follow him over to a fallen tree trunk and when we were both sitting down, he spoke again. "You have to understand that vampires don't think of their actions in the same way that humans do."

"No shit. I've never understood why he does half the things he does but I've learned that I'm not always going to get it." I frowned, not liking it one bit that he was taking Eric's side. Which was weird enough since the last time they had seen each other, Eric was tackling him to the ground because he thought Louie had hurt me. And now Louie was sticking up for him. This whole thing wasn't making sense. "I get that he thinks differently, but it doesn't make it ok for him to go around sleeping with anything that spreads its legs."

"I'm not trying to take Eric's side. I'm just trying to get you to see that from Eric's perspective it wasn't wrong what he did, not in his mind." Louie's face was calm and gentle and it put me more at ease then I had felt since last night. "He watched you die, right? So in his head, he had closed the door on ever having you again because no one ever thought you could be brought back. If he had known that for those 2 months, then he wouldn't have been with other women. He would have waited for you. And I know you know that."

"I hate how you say all the right things and completely change the direction of my emotions. And I very reluctantly have to say I see your point." I groaned, wanting to remain stubborn and be furiously angry at Eric. I did have the right to feel that way, but as Louie pointed out, it wasn't really cheating if I had been dead. If Eric knew I could have been resurrected at the time, then he definitely would have have gone to seek comfort elsewhere. And I should have realized that before. But I did now and eventually I would go back to Eric and we would talk about this, but for the moment I was sticking to my original mission. "I may agree with you,but I still plan on doing what I set out to do. And that's to make Eric as jealous as he made me last night."

"Alright, I guess I can also see where you're coming from." Louie ran his fingers through his short blonde hair, causing it to stick up more. "But I have to ask. How are you going to make him jealous?"

"By hanging out with you for a few hours." I replied with a devious smirk, wanting to laugh at Louie not understanding what I was getting at. "You see, Eric is threatened by you and your hotness. And if I was hanging out with a gorgeous vampire for the night instead of him, then he will see exactly where I'm coming from. So you see, you equals jealousy from him. It's a good theory if you look at it through my eyes."

"Well ok then, just as long as you have a good plan." Louie smirked and then got up and held his hand out to me. "Now, should we journey further into the forest so to prolong this night and draw out his jealousy?"

"I like the way you think." I took his hand with a smile and allowed him to pull me to my feet before taking his arm when he offered it to me and said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Can I ask you something personal?" I asked Louie after we had been walking a little while in silence on a a path he seemed to be very familiar with before I turned to look at him nervously. "And before you agree, you should know that this kind of has to do with...you and Helen."

"As long as it doesn't involve her death then it's ok." Louie's face tensed up the second I let Helen's name pass out of my mouth and for a second I thought he was going to shut down and not say anything else. I could tell, without even reading his mind just how much pain he still felt when the subject came up and it almost shook me up because for some reason, I felt that was exactly how Eric appeared to people when I had been dead. I don't know how either of them could withstand that kind of pain. "Because I told you before I won't speak of her death..."

"No it's not that at all." I shook my head quickly, letting him know I had been respectful of his previous desire to not talk about it and I wasn't going to push at it. If he wanted to bring it up then that was one thing. But it wasn't the direction I was going in. "I just wanted to know if you and Helen ever went through the sort of things Eric and I are going through."

"You do realize that when Helen and I were together, it was over a thousand years ago, right?" Louie's lips were twitching upwards and I knew things were ok between us for the moment. He seemed to be amused by what I had said and I could see why. The issues Eric and I were having would have been phrased in a completely different way when it applied to Louie and Helen. "When she and I were together, it was a different time and a different world."

"I get that but I'm honestly just curious if there were any similar situations." I said, running my free hand through my loose hair. "I mean, besides Sookie and Bill, you and Helen are the only other vampire/Faerie couple that I know about."

"Well, since there is the theme of honesty in the air, I will tell you that Helen and I did have a situation exactly like you and the viking..." Louie chuckled at this, obviously finding something funny about Eric but he didn't add more to that and just elaborated on his previous statement. "Except that it was Helen that had the secret to tell."

"Oh I think I know what you mean by that..." And I did know. It didn't take too much dwelling to figure out what he was alluding to. "Was it when you found out that she was also involved with Godric?"

"Yes...I knew she cared for him. But I didn't know the full extent of their involvement."

"How did you deal with that?" I was curious to see what he would say for two different reasons. One because it was like my current situation with Eric except the roles were reversed and it was Louie who found out something bad. And secondly because I wanted to see how a vampire reacted to this sort of news. "I mean, I know how as a woman and a Faerie how I reacted. But it kind of has me wondering how a vampire would take it."

"Take my hand and see for yourself." Louie shocked me by actually pulling us to a stop in the middle of the trail and held his hand out to me with no trace at all of apprehension. But when I didn't automatically take it, he asked. "What?"

"You're willingly letting me see one of your memories." I was surprised that he seemed so cool about this. It was one thing to hear his thoughts and it was another thing completely to be in his head as he relieved a time from his past. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about seeing a time back that long ago. However, I still had to be respectful. "I mean, that's on a whole different level of personal. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Louie nodded, his hand still hovering in the air. "Some things are easier to understand when you see it for yourself."

I had to agree with him on that and that was why I took his outstretched hand and folded my fingers around his. I barely could feel the ground under me as I went flying forward into his memories...

_"I'm sorry...I'm so very sorry." Helen's quivering voice spoke to him through the dark night air as the only light came from the small fire in the stone circle sitting not that far away. "I never meant to bring you pain..."_

_"How could you do this? How could you betray us like that?" Louie asked her, standing by the edge of the river bank and looked over his shoulder at the blonde wrapped up in white and wished beyond all his power that he could erase what she had just told him. "And with the closest person to me...why him, why __Godric?"_

_"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. It went beyond my control." Helen stayed where she was, knowing well enough it was not safe to step over the grass to join him. He would never hurt her, but as a vampire when the flames of fury took over, he couldn't always control himself. So it was best she keep her distance for now. "I ...I love him. I'm sorry but I do. I love him as I love you."_

_"No, it's not possible for anyone to love two beings at once. You couldn't love him as you claim to love me. It just is impossible." Louie shook his head, not willing to believe it. It's not that he thought Godric was not worthy of the Faerie's love, but it was Louie would had loved her first and he held such a deep love for this woman that it almost pained him. And as a vampire, he did not want to share her. Even with his closest friend. "I may not have the beating heart that you do, but I know that the heart can only belong to one."_

_"I wish I could say your words are true, but they don't hold the same meaning for me. I know what my heart feels and it has been split apart for you and Godric." Helen looked pained as she said this, showing that although her confession hurt him, she hadn't done it out of spite or cruelty. She hadn't wanted this, it just happened. And he couldn't fault her for that. She took a moment to step closer to him, going slow in case she needed to jump back. "I have love for you both."_

_"I don't want to share you. I may not have claimed you or marked you, but I love you. And I don't want anyone else to have you. Even Godric." Louie turned to look straight on at the woman he loved and shook his head, hating that his moment of anger had brought tears to her eyes. "I can't just have a part of you. I need all of you. Or I don't want you at all. It would be torture to know I didn't have all your heart."_

_"Just because I love him, it does not take away my love for you. I still love you very much." Helen's voice dropped to a near whisper as she stepped up behind him and he felt her fingers brushing at his back. "Perhaps one day my heart will decide who I love more. But for now, I love you and Godric equally."_

_"I wish I could say it matters too much and that I could easily walk away and leave you here but even I know I can no longer do that. I'm in too deep now." Louie turned to face her, capturing her hands in his and trying not to imagine __Godric holding those very same hands. But he suppose it could have been worse and that's what he would tell Helen. "I don't like that some other vampire gets to be with you in the way I do. But I think it has the best outcome it could have right now. At least I don't have to be concerned over sharing you with a difficult vampire."_

_"As I have stated before, I do love Godric, but even I am not immune to his many faults.." Helen smiles softly at him, moving in close so their skin was touching. "But Godric is a difficult vampire. Or have you forgotten?"_

_"Godric is difficult, but up until now he has been loyal to me..." Louie felt his face tighten in the night air as his mind drifted to his friend who was out in the wilderness somewhere. It was true that Godric had his share of troubled times, but even at his worst, Godric had always been at Louie's side since they had both been turned by the same vampire. It wasn't just that bond that they shared, it was a bond they had forged them selves over time. "He is the only family I have. And for the last 998 years, it was just him and I. I will never truly turn my back on him, no matter what he does."_

_"I love that you care so deeply for him, your loyalty even as a vampire is breath taking. And I just want you to know something..." Helen laid her hands flat against his chest, her eyes drifting up to meet his. "Even if my heart ends up belonging to you, I will still love Godric. And I also will never turn on him. We will all remain together. We are our own family. That's how we will end up."_

_"I guess the heart can never truly steer you wrong..."_

"Holy crap that was intense." I dropped Louie's hand and stepped back from him, feeling the last remnants of his memory of Helen wash out of my body just as my vision came back into focus and I was able to look up at him in shock. It was like I had been right there beside them as he was remembering it. I knew what he was feeling at the time and what he had been thinking. It was the strangest thing, but oddly enough I was completely fascinated by it. It gave me some clarity that I had been in need of. "She knew what she felt and she was honest with you about it. And you took it well. How is that possible?"

"It's the same with Eric, he knows how he feels about you and he never lied about that. Yes he didn't tell you the whole truth about those other women, but he never lied about how he felt about you. You have always said he was honest about that..." Louie's hand reached up and tucked back a stray piece of hair that had blown in front of my eyes before he spoke again. "Now you just have to decide whether that's enough to override all his faults."

"Damn, you are good." I smiled up at his gentle face and motioned with my hand as we began walking again. "You make it sound so simple."

"Matters of the heart are never simple...but they always find their way eventually."

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

"This is going to sound really strange, but I feel like I know Helen now." I said this to Louie as we were walking through a thin patch of trees but as soon as I said this, he actually came to a stop and looked at me with his head cocked to the side and his eyebrows raised in a very comical sort of way. "I mean, after that flashback and all those little moments when you mentioned her in passing, I feel like I have some kind of insight into who she use to be. And she feels sort of like a friend to me, even though I never met her."

"Everyone has felt that way about her even if they only spoke to her a handful of times. She just had that effect on the people she came across." Louie nodded slightly, a smile playing across his lips as he appeared lost in thought. "Even as a vampire, I felt that way the first night I met her. She just was such an innocent soul but she was fiercely protective of the people she loved and would have gotten violent had the need called for it. It was such a contrast but it was a good contrast."

"She sounds wonderful.." I saw what Louie saw when he said I reminded him of Helen. People called me innocent and naïve my whole life. But when it came to the people I loved, I would turn into this wild, crazy person and do whatever it took to protect those people who meant the most to me. And apparently Helen was the same. I look at Louie and shrugged. "I wished I could have met her. I have a feeling I would have liked her."

"I wish that too." Louie nodded, taking me by the arm and started walking again while tugging me along after him. "If you had met her, then she would have still been here. But she's not and that's just hard to deal with."

"Is it hard to talk about her?" I suddenly felt very guilty about putting him in the situation where he would have talk about her without even considering how painful it must be. Sure he may have invited me into his head and put on a smile or two, but he had loved her and lost her. And no matter what the situation was that brought her to the forefront, it still had to bother him. "I mean, is it tough to talk about her in general or just how it relates to her death?"

"It's always painful to talk about her in any capacity..."Louie's arm tightened through mine as he spoke, evident that it was indeed tough for him right now. "But I think it's only because I put it off for so long. A thousand years had gone by since her death before her name passed through my lips again. And I suppose keeping it pushed down like that for so long made it worse. And then lately I've been talking about her a lot. So it takes some adjusting."

"I'm sorry for making you think about her every time I'm around. That's not my intention at all." I had to apologize for that because it seemed any time he and I crossed paths, Helen somehow popped up in our conversations and I never once thought to try and stop it. "I know how hard it must be and if its too much then you can just tell me to stop. I get how hard it is."

"It is hard and with any other person, I would have shut it down long ago. But for some reason with you, it is not as hard as I thought it would be." Louie's arm relaxed again and I felt relief that I had not bothered him too badly. "Maybe it's because you're another faerie and you remind me of Helen. So it makes it easier to talk about her to someone who is what she was. It's sort of comforting."

"I...I'm sorry you lost her.." I don't know why I got choked up at that moment but I did. I felt the tears spring to my eyes at the thought that he would never get a chance to have more time with the woman he loved. I couldn't even imagine what that must have been like. To be someone who could live for thousands of years and find someone else to share those years with, only to have it yanked away and have him pushed into this life of solitude he had led for the next thousand years. It was so incredibly sad. I looked up at him and said. "I'm so sorry you lost her so soon."

"Yea...I'm sorry too." Louie turned his head and looked off into the distance, his eyes showing the far away expression that even I could see in this limited lighting. "I miss her, even to this very night. I miss having her beside me, knowing that someone was there for me..."

"Have you...I mean did you ever..." I didn't quite know how to phrase this tactfully because it was such a heavy subject, but it seemed we had already passed into the heavy territory so why turn back now. "Have you ever been with anyone else?"

"I wish I could have been like Eric in this instance, going to other women for comfort. Maybe that would have made the last thousand years more bearable.." Louie shook his head swiftly, his eyes still trailing on the distance. "But to answer your question, no. There has never been another."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"Ok, I feel the need to ask this before I go absolutely insane. But I need to know if you are ok talking about it." I spoke up suddenly after about 20 minutes of silence where we had come to a stop by a small trickling river and were just sitting on the banks of it watching it go by. I turned my head to look at Louie who had his arms propped up on his knees and had been looking at the water intently but when I spoke, he directed his gaze to me. "I only ask for your permission because it sort of involves Godric."

"Well that's my favorite subject to speak of next to famine and genocide." Louie stated with a slight frown, as I had expected him to when our time would eventually lead to some kind of Godric conversation. But he was ever the gentleman and put a smile on his face for my benefit. "But since you are being respectful by checking with me, I will be just as respectful and allow you to ask whatever it is you want to know."

"It's not all about Godric but it does in a way relate to him since it's also about you and Helen as well." I watched his face for any sign that he did not want to go there. I didn't know what subject would put him off so I ad to step carefully about what I brought up between us. But so far, he didn't seem resistant, so I forged ahead. "I was just curious about how Helen knew she wanted you in the end and not Godric."

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that.." Louie's face registered his pleasant surprise so it was obvious that this was a more then safe subject. Since he loved the outcome. He did get the girl in the end. "Godric never told you about this?"

"Godric, well he doesn't exactly like to talk about his past any more then you do. He prefers that I focus on the person he is now and he doesn't really give many details from his younger days." I frowned deeply, having it hit me only now just how little I knew about my best friend. I had always thought that because we felt so close and that we had helped each other through some bad times, it meant that we knew each other. But I honestly did not know know all that much about him at all and it was a little disconcerting. He had all these years behind him and I knew nothing about them. And the only insight I got was from Louie. "So I have to come to you for answers. I know how Godric is now but I don't know what he was like back then. And I'm getting to know you and you seemed to have held on to the vampire you were even a thousand years ago. But then I think about how she loved you both and somehow she was able to realize she wanted you more. How is that possible?"

"Well, it was simple really, her decision. And it came down to one thing that Helen held above all other. And that was her family." Louie began to explain, sitting up straighter with his legs stretched outstretched in front of him. "You see, Helen loved her family more then anything. And she would have laid down her life for any of them. They were that important to her and if anything were to happen she would have stepped in and tried to fix it. And there came a point where she would have had to do just that."

"So what happened?"

"I stepped in and fixed everything. Things that never should have needed fixing in the first place." Louie shrugged, as if his involvement in whatever it was was no big deal but I had this distinct feeling that it was a very big deal. "You see, even back then it was a world where other beings had no problem attacking each other. And Helen's family lived in a village that had been attacked in the past...by werewolves."

"Oh dear god." I knew where this was leading, or at least I thought it did. "Her family was ambushed by werewolves?"

"Just one. And not her whole family, it was her younger brother who was attacked." Louie's face altered slightly, as if this memory was hard for him to remember. "His name was Alec and he was out from the village with Helen when they were attacked by the wolf."

"Oh god I hate stories like this." I squirmed uncomfortably, never ok with hearing about children being attacked. I liked kids and they were so helpless and hearing about one being attacked, even from a thousand years ago was seriously uncomfortable for me. "So what happened?"

"I don't know why it attacked but it did and Helen was powerful enough to fend for herself against the wolf. But the boy was not, so when Helen had been knocked out for the moment, it went after the kid. And it was...horrifying." Louie looked like had he been human, he would have vomited at that very moment. And I was glad when he had not shown me the attack, I knew just how vicious werewolves could be and I did not need to see it playing out in front of me. "There was blood everywhere, he had torn flesh from head to toe and wounds that would have killed a grown man in minutes but he was fighting to stay alive. And Helen was fighting back at the wolf but she could only do so much. And her best was not good enough and it wouldn't have saved them."

"You said you never claimed or marked Helen, so how did you know they were in trouble?" I questioned, remembering what he had told me. "How could you feel her distress?"

"I'm a vampire, even from a great distance away I could hear her screams and the smell of blood in the air. I knew what was happening and rushed back from hunting to help her. And when I got there, it was just..." Louie shook his head but I knew what he was getting at. The sight of the carnage must have been overwhelming for a vampire like him. "It was a lot to take in. but mostly it was tough because of all the Faerie blood that had been spilt. I've never tasted the blood but I knew how delicious it must have been since I could smell it. And seeing it so freely in front of me made me uneasy because for a moment, I did want to taste it. Even when it was coming from a dying child..."

"But you resisted, you didn't do it." I felt my lips curl upwards at this statement. "I don't know you all that well, but I have a feeling that you would never drink Fae blood from a child."

"You're right, I regained my senses and focused on rectifying the problem. And I shot down into the middle of the fight and because of my age I was able to over power the wolf easily. And I snapped its neck before it even hit the ground." Louie recounted this memory with such a straight face that it amazed me. I knew if I had to be talking about a moment as violent as that, then I would getting choked up. But he was dealing with it fine. "My attention was on the boy. Helen only had minor injuries, but Alec was dying right in front of us, I had to save him in the only way I could."

"You gave him your blood." I felt a cold chill hit me at the thought of giving a young child vampire blood. I knew what it could do but I never heard of it been given to a child. It was just weird. "Was he ok? Or did he..."

"No no, he lived, he was ok. It took a lot of blood because his injuries were extensive but he healed and he was as normal as he was before the attack." Louie's face light up as if he was sure he had finally done something right for being a vampire. "I couldn't glamor him into forgetting but Helen assured me there would be no problems from the other faeries since I had saved them and not been the one to attack."

"So was that..."

"Yes, that was the moment when things became clear to her. When she realized that I would come running to rescue a child I had no tie to just because it was the right thing to do. That seemed to have made her final decision for her. Seeing me save her brother won her heart, her whole heart." Louie smiled so brightly at this that it was almost like Helen was still alive and just back at his house or something. "After Alec had been healed, she had fallen into my arms crying and telling me how grateful she was for my help and how much she loved me for not being the monster I thought I had been up until that point. She said she saw who I was and it was someone who warmed her heart and she was ready to give me all of her heart. And that was just how it happened."

"That was intense." I pointed out, running my fingers through my hair as I thought about that memory. I could see why Helen would have chosen him. Louie may have love Helen but that didn't mean he had to love her siblings as well. But he had jumped into an attack to save the boy just because he couldn't bear to see him die. It was obvious why Helen would want Louie in the end. But there was still another vampire that had been in the running and where had he been. "Louie...where was Godric when all this was happening? You guys were close at that point so why didn't he go with you to help Helen and her brother?"

"Remember when I said that all vampires had dark parts of their pasts?" Louie frowned again when Godric came up, but I don't think it was because of his involvement in Helen's death, however that had gone done. When I had nodded for him to go on, he did. " Well Godric was acting on his darkness..."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"You haven't said anything in a few minutes and it's starting to make me worry." Louie turned to look at and I could spot the look of concern in his eyes and although there was no reason to be worried, he didn't know that. "Was sharing that memory with you too much?"

"No, it's not that. I mean it was hard to hear that kind of thing but it's not the reason for my silence." I assured him that my quiet thinking had nothing to do with his memory with Helen. It had everything to do however with the other vampire who should have been there but hadn't been. And I had been struggling to try and picture Godric as anything other then the calm and kind best friend that I knew and it was just impossible. I looked at Louie and just sighed. "I'm having a hard time imagining Godric having a dark side."

"That's because he is different now then he was back then. Even I can see that." Louie leaned back on his elbows, his eyes still on me. "And the only reason you can't think of him having a dark side is because you have only seen the vampire he is now and not the vampire he once was. A thousand years ago, he wasn't the nice guy you think he is."

"I get that he was different, but I can't imagine him being that radically different." I stared at Louie for a while, trying to figure out if him saying this about Godric was just a direct result of his hatred for my friend and not the truth. But as I looked into his blue green eyes, I felt something shift inside of me and I just knew this new vampire friend of mine was telling the truth. It was one of those gut feelings of mine. "If he was that dark and as cruel as you are making him sound, then tell me about it. Tell me what he has done, tell me everything."

"Are you ready to hear about that? Are you sure you want to know about his bad side?" Louie sat back up and folded his legs underneath him so he was facing me head on. His face was guarded and careful as if he was holding back a tidal wave of bad things. "You have to be sure you are ready to deal with whatever I tell you. Because once you know about his past, it will shatter all the illusions you have of him. You will never look at him the same way again. I'm just trying to spare you the risk of losing a friend. Because while you may not lose him from your life, once you hear about his past, you will lose the friend you thought you had. And I don't want that for you unless you are sure."

"Why do you care if I don't look at him the same way or if our friendship is altered? Why does it matter if it changes how I see him?" I felt my forehead wrinkle before a frown tugged at my lips and I stared at him with my head cocked to the side. "Why do you care about what happens? You certainly don't care about Godric."

"You're right, you are so incredibly right." Louie smirked and jiggled his shoulders in a shrug. "I don't care about Godric. I haven't cared about him in a very long time."

"Then why did you try and warn me about finding out about Godric's past?"

"Because I don't want you to be hurt by it. I may not care for him, but Godric obviously means a lot to you and I can see how it would hurt you to lose his friendship." Louie appeared confused as if he couldn't quite figure out why Godric meant so much to me. But that look disappeared a second later. " For some reason, I care about how it would affect you."

"That's awfully nice of you to be worried about me." I smiled, feeling touched that a vampire his age who had so much history with my best friend could put it aside just to be there for me in a way I didn't even think of. "And you may have a point. So I think maybe I will withhold from knowing about Godric's darker side for now. It might be better for him to show it to me rather then you."

"He won't do that, he never will show it to you because he is ashamed of that side of himself. And he would never want that to be known to anyone else." Louie explained with his lips pressed into a tight line. "If it were possible to erase those years when he was less then a saint then he would."

"Still, it would be his past I'm seeing and if it's without his consent, then it would feel like an invasion of privacy..." I didn't know how Godric would react to me seeing into his past so it was better to not see it until he was willing to share with me himself. "I don't want to upset him."

"He's lucky to have a friend like you.."

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours later<span>_

"You..."

"I can't believe you would..."

"All night? Are you serious?"

"With another vampire...why him?"

"You..."

"Words Eric, use your words and at least try and formulate a complete thought." I smirked as I said this, my eyes on the quickly pacing vampire in front of me that had not stopped spouting off halfhearted shouts since the moment I stepped through the door. And to be honest, it did not bother me at all. In fact, I kind of liked it.

Louie had dropped me off on the front porch of the house only 20 minutes ago and had promised me it would not be the last time we saw each other. He explained that after tonight, he had felt a closeness to me and would like to continue our friendship if I allowed it. Of course I said yes, knowing he was in desperate need of a friend and I was more then willing to step up to the plate. I also had ulterior motives for saying yes, because I was hoping that if Louie and I got close then perhaps I could mend the distance between him and Godric. But that was in the future and right now I had to deal with Eric, who had been waiting for me on the stairs when I walked in. And of course he had immediately went off on me like I knew he would. I had been prepared for this reaction when I made the decision to leave the house hours earlier so when he began to yell, I just sat back and took it until the moment came when I could cut back in.

"You were gone longer then I thought...and I have been sitting here like an idiot waiting for you."

"I'm Eric fucking Northman! I don't wait for anyone."

"Do you know how human you made me feel tonight?"

"Wow, that sounds so sincere." I said teasingly, feeling for the first time in his presence that I could stand up to him and make him see where I was coming from and I might have accomplished that with my time away with Louie. "You didn't like that I was around another man and that man just so happens to be a good looking vampire..."

"WHAT?" Eric's eyes got wide and he was looking so insanely jealous that it was comical and I actually started laughing at him. Which only proceeded to further piss him off. "You think this is funny?"

"Well now you know how I felt about you being with those women. I hated it and it bothered me, just like it bothers you that I was with Louie." I explained this in the calmest voice I could manage, being that I was no longer as upset with him as I had been last night. But I still had to make sure he had learned his lesson. "Do you get why I was so upset? Do you understand finally why I take things like this so hard?"

"I might have some idea. Not that I like thinking like a human, but I guess I have no choice in the matter.." Eric looked grumpy and seriously annoyed which he only looked like when he was forced to see through someone else's eyes. So score for me, I got through to him. But that didn't mean he wasn't still himself. Because I had barely looked at him before he rushed forward and pushed me against the wall and then silenced me from saying anything more by pressing his lips against mine. The action was so sudden that my mind was scrambling for clarity and I was struggling to push him away but then he deepened the kiss and wrapped his hands around my wrists, pinning them to the wall beside me just as I felt his tongue enter my mouth at the same time a spark ignited in my head...

_"I'm sorry Allison...I'm actually genuinely sorry this time."_

_"I don't want to keep on hurting you because when you hurt, I also hurt. I just don't always know how to stop from screwing up."_

_"I know you may not always think so highly of me and I don't blame you. I am ashamed of my actions and I have seen how far they can push you over the edge and I don't want to do that anymore..."_

_"Don't hate me...just love me again."_

"I do love you...no matter what you do." I pulled away from Eric's face so I could look at him just as he looked at me. Yes he had screwed up and yes I was still upset about those women, but that didn't take away how much I loved him. There was a lifetime of screwing up ahead of us and we both were going to make mistakes but after what we had already been through, if we were still standing then I was sure we were always going to be ok. "It's not going to be easy for us because we will always disagree and fight. But if we are both committed to at least trying, then I think we will be ok."

"I think so too." Eric leaned forward to kiss me again, his hands releasing my wrists to cup my face, causing my to wince as he touched the bruises. He immediately pulled away and brought his wrist to his mouth, biting into before pressing it to my lips without even asking. "Don't resist, just drink."

"You are so damn bossy." I rolled my eyes but I still did what he said and took that first drink of his blood. It wasn't going to take as long as it had in the past being that these were very minor injuries. I could feel the ache in the bruises fading away just as surely as the discolor was leaving my skin and the cut on my head was getting smaller and smaller with each drop of blood I consumed until it went away entirely. I dropped Eric's wrist and wiped his blood from my lips with the edge of my sleeve and smiled at him. "Thank you for the blood."

"You're welcome." Eric's wrist healed within seconds before he looked down at me with a smirk. "And thank you for not drawing attention to the fact that I willingly let you into my mind."

"I did notice that and I'm touched that you would trust me to be in your mind." I reached up and touched his face with my fingers, seeing traces of the old Eric there, back when he was considerate at times instead of being a jerk. I missed this side of him. "I never thought you would..."

_Ring...ring...ring._

"Who the fuck is ringing the doorbell this late at night?" Eric growled, stepping back from me and glaring at the door with what could only be described as daggers in his eyes. "It better not be Sookie or Bill interrupting us. I will yell at them like I have never yelled before. In fact..heads may be ripped off."

"Eric, you are being dramatic. You will not be killing Bill if it is them at the door." I rolled my eyes at him for his immediate turn to violence and rushed passed him to the door. "Just relax and as soon as they are gone, we will be having our own fun. I promise you."

"They better not stay here long." Eric growled, but his face looked pleased as I reached for the door knob and pulled open the door, finding only one figure on the front steps instead of my cousin and her husband.

"Oh, hello." I looked back at Eric who had appeared behind me before I stared at this near middle aged woman standing in front of me. I had never seen her before and I was certain neither had Eric. But what I did know was that she wasn't human. I could feel the vibe coming from her and I knew she was a faerie, but I had no idea why she was here. "Can I help you?"

"It depends. " The woman with short brown hair said kindly and almost nervously as she twisted her hands around each other. "Are you Allison Stackhouse?"

"Yes I am." I frowned, something wasn't right about this. This woman I had never seen knew my name somehow. That was unnerving and made me step closer to Eric. "Who are you?"

"My name is Molly and I have come here to talk to you." The woman held her hand out to me hesitantly and I made the choice to reach out and shake it, it was the polite thing to do of course. "But I think it's best if we sit down before I say anything."

"I feel perfectly fine standing here, thank you very much." I felt around behind me for Eric's hand and when I found it, I grabbed on tightly. I don't know why but I had a feeling that I would need him right now. "Why are you here? How do you know my name? And why would I need to sit down to hear anything a stranger has to say?"

"Because I am not a stranger. I am a faerie and I am also a witch." Molly confessed, her words making Eric growl and tug me back beside him while she shook her head quickly. "I know your history with witches and I just want to assure you that you have nothing to fear from me."

"How can I trust that? I don't know you." I stared at this woman, looking deep into her eyes and trying to read her mind but her blocks were up and I was left stumped. "And how do you know I have a past with witches?"

"Because I know what they did to you." Molly stated, her face quivering slightly for a reason I did not know but her mentioning my murder raised a red flag. How could a stranger know that? "I know they killed you and obviously you were resurrected.."

"How...how do you know all that?" I was scared now, really scared. I did not feel calm at all in front of this woman even if she was another faerie. She knew too much about me. And that terrified me. "How did you know I was brought back to life?"

"Because I'm the one who performed your resurrection and the reason I did that is because...Because I am your birth mother."

**A/N: Dun dun dun! molly returns and admits what they have all been wondering abotu forever. And now the truth comes out in its entirety. **


	18. I'm so tired, time to dream

**Chapter 18 I'm so tired, time to dream**

"I'm sorry, but did you just say what I think you said?" I don't know how on earth I managed to open my mouth and say that but I did. I could feel the shock and numbness starting to filter in and I knew it wouldn't be long before I would be unable to form even the smallest of sentences so I had to speak now while I still had the ability. I looked up at this woman and for the first time since I opened the door to her, I began to see some of my own features reflecting back at me. "Did you just say you were my mother?"

"Yes I did." Molly said back just as quietly as me, her green eyes flickering downward at her feet and her hands coming up to twirl her fingers through her hair like I would do when I was nervous. Seeing that trait of mine being done by a stranger who I was only being told now shared a history with me, threw me harder then I thought I could be. She lifted her eyes up and met mine before saying. "I am your birth mother."

"Uh...excuse me." I dropped Eric's hand that I had been clutching this whole time and actually turned on my heels and walked away from the front door and right in to the living room, blocking me from the sight of Eric and Molly just in time for me to lose all the air from my lungs. I grabbed the back of the couch to steady myself as closed my eyes and willed my lungs to start working again. But the panic going through me was too sudden for me to begin to fight off and I was soon gasping for breath just as I felt a pair of hands land on my shoulders and turn me around. I saw those familiar eyes staring down at me in concern and I began waving my arms at him. "Eric, it's ok. I'm fine, stop looking at..."

"You're not fine. You're hyperventilating and you need to calm down before you pass out." Eric cut in, his hands pulled me forward into his arms where he held me against his chest and stroked my hair just like Sookie would have done if she had been the one holding me. "Just breathe and calm down. I'll stay here with you until you are ok again."

I wanted to thank him for that but I just couldn't at the moment. There would be time later where I could show my gratitude for what he was trying to do but right now I just need to calm my ragged breathing before I faced that woman again. And I would have to face her. She hadn't just showed up here to drop that bomb on me and then walk away without explaining anything. And there was plenty to explain and she was the only who had the answers to the questions we had all been wondering about since my resurrection. Questions that I had in the back of my mind since finding out I was adopted and hadn't had a chance to figure out how to get them answered. But now the answer had shown up at my door and I just had to gather the courage to face her and find out the truth. I felt my racing heart slow down at the same time my lungs began to work properly and yet I still held on to Eric as tightly as he was holding on to me. Our argument from last night and from earlier was gone and replaced by a more desperate need for him to comfort me as I went through what was going to be the toughest thing yet.

"Do you want me to kick her out?" Eric asked me, pulling back from me and brushing the hair out of my eyes so he could see me clearly. "I will send her away if you want me to."

"I don't want to deal with this, but I have to. I need answers and she's the only one who can give them." I told him quietly, breathing heavily but steady as I pressed my hands to the side of my face and felt my cold skin. It was like all the blood had been drained out of me, that's how numb I was feeling. "I would like to forget she ever came here. But finally I have the person who can explain everything to me within my grasp and I am not about to let her slip away. I just need a second to get myself together."

"What should I do? Tell me what I'm suppose to be doing." Eric looked uneasy, this type of drama not up his alley of expertise to deal with and he was looking out of place in a way he never had before. His eyes darted to mine and he wrinkled his forehead. "Do you want me to call Sookie and Bill..."

"No, I don't want you to call them. I don't want more people here because it will be too much to deal with and there's already enough drama going on right now." I shook my head, my hands running through my hair as I thought to my cousin. I was going to have to tell her about this but not right now. If she and Bill were to come over, then I would have to worry about their reactions and I couldn't deal with more people in this house. I just needed Eric and perhaps one other person. I looked at him and asked. "Can you call Godric? I really want him here."

"I'll go do it right now." Eric nodded in response, bringing his hands back to my face and leaning down to press his lips against mine gently. "I'll be right back."

Eric rushed from the room in the direction of the kitchen and I was left alone to just stare at the walls surrounding me. It was quiet for the moment, too quiet to hear if there was anyone else in the house. I wondered if Molly was still standing in the doorway where we had left her. I walked across the room, making my footsteps as silent as could be and peeked around the door frame towards the front of the house. The door was still open and to my utter shock, Molly was still standing there with her hands tucked under her arms and her face directed downward as if she found a particular interest in her feet. But when I took my first step toward her, her head shot up and our eyes met again. I froze in my spot for a while, just staring at her. I couldn't believe that the woman who had given birth to me was finally standing in front of me. It was such a surreal feeling as I managed to start walking again until I was standing back in the doorway looking at her straight on.

"So..." I pressed my lips together to stop them from shaking and somehow brought my hand up to wave her inside. "Do you want to come in?"

"I would love to." Molly sent a small smile at me before she stepped passed me and into the house, opening up the night to the unknown that I was not prepared to deal with.

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Eric, what the hell is going on?" Godric demanded, arriving in a fluster through the back door of Eric's house only to find his child standing in the middle of the kitchen with his phone still in his hand. It hadn't been that long ago when he had gotten the call from Eric and when he had heard that Allison's mother had just shown up out of nowhere, he had taken right to the sky to get here. And now that he was, he didn't want to waste time with pleasantries, he wanted answers and he wanted them now. "Why is she here?"

"I don't know, I don't have answers yet." Eric furiously said back, shooting a look down the hallway like there was a whole army of enemies awaiting for their attention. "She's in the living room with Allie. But they haven't started talking yet."

"You left her alone with that woman?" Godric rolled his eyes and left the kitchen as quickly as he had entered it and shot through the house towards the living room where he skidded to a stop in the doorway. His sudden appearance caused the two figures sitting on the opposite sides of the room from each other to jump, but it was Allison whose face he zeroed in on first. "Allison..."

"Hey Godric." Allison, upon locking eyes with him got up and came over to where he was standing and he immediately opened his arms to her. She went into his embrace so quickly that it was evident that the shock was still very much present and nothing had even been said yet. He heard a slight sniffle coming from her and as a result he tightened his grip on her just as Eric came up behind them. Allison lifted her head and wiped at her eyes with her fingertips to ward off any tears that threatened to fall. "It's going to be ok right?"

"Of course it is." Godric promised her with all the assurance he could muster which really wasn't all that much since his attention was drawn now to the older woman who remained seated on the couch watching them. He left go of Allison, making sure she went to Eric before he stepped into the room towards Molly. That turned out to be a mistake that he never saw coming because after he took those initial steps, he was filled to the brim with an overwhelming urge to rush at this woman. And once he put up no resistance to that feeling, it consumed him and he had no control over what happened next.

He allowed his eyes to meet hers, seeing for a second the exact same color of Allison's eyes before he noticed the guarded, hated look behind those green orbs. And to see this stranger staring at him like he was this monster, it filled him again with an unhinged rage and this time he did rush at her. He didn't understand why he wanted to attack her, he just did. She had hurt Allison with her sudden appearance and he did not take kindly to people hurting someone he loved. But Molly was ready for him and before he reached her, she had flung out her hands and he found himself being enveloped by a blinding white light that sent him flying backwards right into a wall of shelves. He fell to the floor, an avalanche of books and wood planks falling on top of him as he tried to rise, with an all new feeling of anger rushing through his body. He glared at Molly who was still standing with her hands now down at her sides as her eyes watched him and Eric readily.

"You bitch." Eric growled, pushing aside Allison and with one click, his fangs came shooting out from behind his lips. "How dare you try and hurt my maker."

"He charged at me, I was defending my own life." Molly snapped, glaring at Eric just as harshly as he was at her. "I don't care if he is your maker. You both are vampires and I will fight you again if necessary. And perhaps kill you if I need to."

"Not against a 2000 year old and 1000 year old vampire you can't." Godric hissed, his fangs also coming out in his anger, feeling for the first time a true rage for a faerie. Something that he had never experienced in his lifetime, even after Helen's death. But this woman didn't know them and she was already passing judgment about their character and for once, that enraged him. "This doesn't have to resort to violence."

"Like hell it does." Molly's lips curled up in a snarl, no longer looking like the sweet woman he had first spotted just moments before. She snapped her fingers and just like that the white light came out of her fingers, beaming strong from every part of her hand. She looked back at the two of them and said guardedly. "Whose first?"

"Stop it!" Allison's voice suddenly shouted, grabbing their focus away from each other just in time to see her throw down her hands they hadn't even realized she had raised, and blast all three of them with the same white light Molly had coming out of her hands. Except Allison was more powerful then Molly and was able to hit them all at the same time, separating them to different sides of the room but in the process ended up knocking them to the floor with the force of her power. She didn't appear to care as she stepped into the room, looking at each of them before yelling "You have to stop trying to kill each other.!"

"But they're vampires!" Molly shouted back, the first to get to her feet as she turned and looked at Allison like she had been there all along instead of just a few minutes. "They are our natural enemy..."

"Jesus Christ, will you shut up? They are not the enemy." Allison screamed, her eyes getting wide out of anger and she no longer looked like the scared little girl that had been sitting there when they all met up together. Allison looked around the room, her eyes blazing as she spoke more calmly and in their defense. "Godric is my best friend. And Eric loves me. They both mean a lot to my life and you come in here and right off the bat engage in a fight? I don't even know you."

"You are my daughter, I came here to give you the answers you need." Molly replied, her voice still tinged with an edge as she eye him and Eric cautiously. "I did not come to fight off your vampires.."

"Then explain yourself.." Godric said, moving from his spot near Eric and stepped in front of Allison, blocking her off from this woman that none of them were willing to trust at the moment. "You said you had answers. So give them, right now."

"Fine..."

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"I got pregnant when I was only 19 years old..." Molly began speaking as soon as we had all calmed down long enough to take a seat across from her and made sure it didn't look anyone else was going to be lunging for the others throat. I had positioned myself between Eric and Godric, knowing it was the place where I would feel most safe when I heard the details of my birth and adoption and I had immediately grabbed on to Eric's hand, needing to be touching him or else I would never get through this. After Molly's run in with both Eric and Godric, she made sure to just keep her eyes on me when she spoke and that unnerved me a little because this woman was my mother and yet she felt very much like a stranger to me. A stranger who was just about to start telling me what I should have been told a long time ago. "I gave birth to you a few weeks after I turned 20. But I was in college and I was doing everything on my own. There was no way I could keep a baby and if I had kept you, it would have been for pure selfish reasons. And I didn't want to make you suffer just because I couldn't let you go."

"Yea, because staying in the dark about this for almost 24 years wasn't selfish at all." Eric growled under his breath from beside me, his hand tightening slightly as he stared straight ahead at Molly. "That makes you sound just swell."

"Eric, shut up." I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes even though I was kind of touched that he had no problem talking back to Molly. She probably felt like a threat to him even though she was my real mother and he was just trying to hold on to his control. But right now, I needed him to relinquish it just for a little while so I could learn about myself. I turned back to Molly. "How did you meet my parents?"

"I was on break from school at the time and I had decided to take a road trip with one of my friends. And we ended up with a flat tire in Georgia and we had to call a tow truck because we didn't have a spare. We had gotten lucky and were near a diner parking lot, so we were able to wait there for the truck and get something to eat. And it was there that I met your parents." Molly's voice wavered a bit as she said this and I knew it was because she was calling another man and woman my parents and that had to have been hard but she didn't let it show too long before she spoke again. "We ended up sitting together and talking. I told them about my situation and how I was hoping to find a better family for my baby since I just couldn't do it myself. And they actually surprised me when they started talking about their own wishes for a family..."

"They couldn't get pregnant, that's what I've been told." I nodded in remembrance of how this all came to be when I first found out about my adoption and it amazed me that my parents had just so happened to be in the same diner with a woman who was looking to give up her baby. Irony or what. "So they just talked to some stranger and you thought it would be a great idea to just give your child to some random people you met on a road trip."

"I was young, but I was not stupid." Molly shot back, her green eyes blazing up like I was sure mine did when I was mad. "I liked the type of people they were but I knew enough about the world to know you can't always go off a first impression. So when we exchanged numbers, I told them I wanted to do a background check just to be sure. I wasn't about to give my baby to just anyone..."

"But just to the right people to get her off your hands, right?" Eric scoffed, cutting in again with another snide remark that I knew I had to ignore. If he saw me having any reaction then he would take it to mean that I was bothered by Molly and he may try and start something.

"Anyway, there was nothing fishy in their backgrounds so we talked on the phone for a while, just so we could get to know each other a little better. I mean, you sort of want to know the people you're giving your child to even if you won't remain in the picture. I just needed to be sure they were the right people to raise you. And they were just incredibly nice to me and they genuinely wanted to help me. And they assured me they would take care of you and treat you well. They said they would make sure you had the best childhood they could give you." Molly ran her hands through her short brown hair, making me take notice that her hands were just as small and delicate looking as mine were. It was weird to notice things like that but who knew how long she planned on sticking around this time. I just wanted to take in whatever I could. I looked up into her eyes again just as she asked. "Did you...did you have a good childhood?"

"For the first few years I did, but then...bad things happened." I frowned deeply right then and there because I knew I was crossing over into dangerous territory when I was talking about my parents. I didn't want to cry so I tried to keep my eyes down as I spoke. "My aunt and uncle died when I was 6 in a flood. And my parents were so close to them, they were the best of friends. And they couldn't deal with their grief, so about 8 months after the flood they took their lives. And my cousins and I went to lives with our grandmother up until her death just a few years ago."

"Oh god, I am so sorry. I had no idea." Molly was obviously horrified because I could hear it in her voice. She had obviously never secretly kept tabs on me over the years because what I just told her had caught her completely by surprise. "Those poor people, they were so kind to me..."

"I don't want to talk about their deaths, its painful for me." I had to change the subject or else I was going to star bawling and then chaos would erupt. Eric would flip out because he couldn't take tears and because it was Molly's presence that was the reason for it, he could take out his rage on her. And I didn't want another fight. So I just moved the conversation along as best I could. "So what happened after you got to know them?"

"Once I was sure they were the right people, we talked to lawyers and had papers drawn up. It was tough to see it all in writing but I knew it was for the best. I couldn't keep you and so I was doing the next best thing that I could, giving you to people who could care for you." She clenched her hands into fists in her lap, making it very obvious that she was my mother because I was seeing so many of my own traits in her body language. "I ended up sighing those papers about 2 months before I gave birth. They put all the custody and parental rights in your parents' names once my name was on the documents."

"And then..."

"Your parents came to stay in a hotel near my apartment a week before I was due to give birth, they wanted to make sure they were there for it. And when I went into labor, they took me to the hospital and stayed in the room with me since I had no one else. It took you about 36 hours to come into the world. You weren't coming until you were ready, you definitely took your time." Molly actually broke out into a smile at that, her face looking relaxed and far away as I was sure she was reliving it in her head. I didn't dare look into it because I didn't know her well enough to feel ok about doing that. And it certainly wasn't something I was ready for. "But then you were there and I just remember everyone crying and saying how beautiful you were."

"How long did you have with me before they took you away?" I quietly asked, wanting to know if she had even wanted anything to do with me right after the birth. "Did my parents let you have time?"

"Of course they did, your mother especially was adamant about me getting to have even just a few hours with you. She picked you up out of the nursery and brought you back into my room and put you right into my arms. She said that even though they were going to be your parents, I was still your mom as well and I should have a chance to say goodbye." She wasn't smiling any more and her gaze was back in the present and guarded again. "I held you for about 4 hours, just staring at you. And then a day after you were born, they took you home and I was left to go back to my life."

"Did you ever try to make contact with them to see me? Would they have let you?" I wanted to know because after my parents had died, there was no one that could have given those type of answers that I wanted. "Did you ever try to see me?"

"I wanted to, but I couldn't. It was just too hard." Molly shook her head quickly. "It was hard enough giving you up before you were born, but if I tried to see you after that, I knew it was going to be even tougher. And I thought it would be best to just stay away and not get involved. That's why I'm only now just showing up."

"If you had stayed away this whole time, they how in the hell did you get involved with her resurrection?" Godric spoke up for the first time since the conversation had started and just like when he first walked in, he sounded angry. "How did you know when she died? And how is it even possible that you could do such a thing?"

"I knew all about it because I was involved with the Dallas coven." Molly's statement sent me pressing backwards against the couch cushions and grabbing Eric by the arm when he looked ready to get up and lunge at her. Molly saw this and she nearly tripped over her words as she tried to finish it. "It's not what you think, I wasn't with them to make trouble. I was there to try and destroy them from within once and for all."

"Wait, you've had trouble with them before?" My mouth fell open, never realizing that my birth mother could be tied in to the coven that had taken my life. "And you joined them to try and fight back?"

"You see, I had been studying witchcraft for years, it was my passion growing up because it gave me more of a sense of who I was. I mean, my Fae powers were just there, but witchcraft was a learning process and I loved it. And as it turns out, I was great at it. I was powerful and because of that, once I was older, I began to become more of an interest to surrounding covens, especially the Dallas coven." Molly explained, gaining my interest more with this turn of events then the first part of this talk. "They tried to recruit me for years and I always turned them down, because I knew how power hungry witches can get when they are in close quarters and I didn't want to be involved in that. But there were rumors going around in the magical community about a series of attacks and murders over the years from that particular coven and it came to a point where I couldn't stand by and let them hurt people. I didn't know any other witches beside my friend Aaron, but I figured if I pretended to join this coven, then maybe I could turn people over to my side and we could disband it."

"But you didn't.."

"No, it was harder then I thought and I couldn't be too obvious about it or else they would turn on me. And at one point I was just thinking about throwing my hands up and leaving. But then I began to hear whispers from the new coven leader Anna..." Molly paused when I felt my face contort harshly at the mention of the witch who had been the one to kill me. I hadn't thought about her since my resurrection and it was a jolt through my chest to remember that red head with no mercy. "She mentioned being hired by Steve Newlin to finish what he couldn't do and then she said your name. She clearly said Allison Stackhouse and when I knew what she was up to, I knew I couldn't leave now. I had to try harder to do something to stop them."

"But you didn't stop them. They still killed me." My throat tightened, the memories from my last moments in the graveyard flashing through my head, causing my heart to pound. Eric must have felt it pushing at our bond because I felt his arm go around me, pulling me closer to his side. I was grateful for this because I needed someone stronger then me to lean on right now. "What exactly did you expect to do if you couldn't get the coven to see your way?"

"I knew I couldn't fight back against the coven even if I was powerful. There were just too many of them. I knew I had to go about it a different way. So even though I didn't like it, I had to sit back and wait for the right situation to present itself for me to use to my advantage. And luckily, before the battle, that moment came to me." Molly eyes were looking over Eric and I, watching the way he touched me in a way that conveyed exactly what we were to each other. She didn't look happy but she knew she couldn't comment on it. "The dagger that Anna used to kill you, she had wanted me to curse it. She wanted me to do it because I was the strongest witch and she knew I wouldn't mess it up. She wanted a curse put on it so that when she stabbed you with it, your soul would be lost between earth and whatever is beyond this world. She had said that if you weren't going to give up your soul, then she was going to make sure that you didn't find peace after death."

"But you didn't do it did you?" I was feeling something click in my head and I sat up quickly. "Because that ties in to my resurrection, doesn't it?"

"It does. Because had your soul been lost, then I could not have brought you back. It would have been impossible. And I knew that, which was why I had to make sure if there was going to be anything put on that dagger,t hen it was going to be a spell to protect your soul. So I told Anna I had curse it, but I didn't. I performed the spell I wanted and she never knew the difference. She took the dagger without question and that's when I told her I was leaving the coven to venture out on my own. She was angry but she let me go. I didn't want to leave because I knew what she was going to do, but if I offered resistance then she would get suspicious and know I hadn't performed the curse. And if she knew that, then she would have killed me, did the curse herself and killed you anyway. So it tormented me to walk away knowing she was killing you, but I knew I was going to be able to go back and fix it. So I left my house and moved to Mississippi so I would occasionally check on things and see when I was going to be able to start the resurrection. And I was able to do it the night you were buried."

"It took 2 months for me to be resurrected?" I asked with a frown, remembering how I had been told I was gone for those few months and it shocked me that it took that long to do it. "What did you have to do?"

"The resurrection spell called for me to give two personal things that I shared with you. My blood and my powers. I had to infer blood every few days into your grave and that's what took so long. And the last giving of blood had to be pushed into the ground by way of my Fae powers. And that completed my part. The only thing left to do was to wait for the next rain storm." She told us, her eyes drifting away from me as I knew this was going to be the hard part to hear. "The way the spell finishes is that the ground where your resting place was had to be rained on, its a cleansing thing and it would bring you back in an untainted place. And I was going to be there to ….dig you out but..."

"You left me in the ground to dig myself out." I felt my entire body get cold as if I had just had a bucket of ice water thrown on me. "You brought me back to life but you left me down there to wake up in my own coffin. Do you have any idea how badly that has scarred me? Why weren't you there?"

"I was suppose to be and I had checked the weather reports religiously to find out when the next storm was going to be and at the time, there wasn't suppose to be rain until the week after the night I finished it. And I hadn't checked the weather since that first time." Molly looked at me with a deep shame in her eyes as she should. She made it a point to get involved in this whole debacle and she should have seen it through but she didn't. And I was the one to suffer for it. "My friend Aaron was the one who had told me about the storm and we rushed to Bon Temps to see for ourselves. I saw your grave and I knew instantly what had happened and I felt so distraught about what you must have gone through when you woke up. I hated myself. I should have been there."

"Why did you do it? Why did you bring me back when you had nothing to do with me for 23 years? Why?" I felt Eric's arm hold me back when I must have started to rise up. I was angry and upset. I wanted to lash out, but the energy to do that had long since left my body. So I just remained there on the couch and stared at her with tears in my eyes. "Why didn't you just let me stay dead?"

"Because no parent should have to see their child get put in the ground." She said quietly, her eyes meeting mine for the briefest of seconds. "I screwed up. And I take responsibility for it. But I do not regret it for a second."

"Well you fucking should." Eric grumbled, this time needing to be the one who was held back. "You should be sorry. You made the choice to get involved in all this and instead of seeing it through to the end, you fucked up at the most crucial moment. Do you have any idea the trouble you have caused?"

"I don't need a vampire to point out my mistakes." Molly shot back, not showing fear in the slightest as she and Eric stared each other down. "I owned up to what I failed at and you need to back off."

"I agree. Stand down Eric." Godric spoke up again, exerting his power over his child right when it was needed. He knew as well as I did that once Eric got going, it would be hard to reign him in. So he cut him off at the pass and turned to eye Molly. "Now if that's all you have to say then perhaps its time to..."

"I am not finished yet. There are still a few more things that need to be discussed." Molly was persistent, that's for sure. It was also one of the traits I had not inherited from her as I was not prone to pushing a situation as she was. "When I first found out that the coven was targeting Allison, I knew I had to do some research to learn as much as I could about her and I found out something very interesting as to why she is so sought after. She's special, extremely special."

"No shit." Eric exclaimed, looking at Godric quickly before saying. "She's the last full blooded faerie around, of course she's special."

"You...are extremely annoying." Molly frowned, sitting back with her arms crossed. "Now can you shut up for a few minutes while I speak?"

"Ok ok, before this falls apart into another fight, I'm cutting in." I sent a look at Eric to tell him to calm down before doing the same to Godric. I knew they both just wanted to protect me, but the more they commented unnecessarily, then the longer this would be drawn out. "When you said you found something out, what was it?"

"I may not like the vampire community but I at least have respect for some vampires and because of that, I was able to come across some very interesting news." Molly shot Eric a death glare before fully setting her sights on me and asked. "You performed a resurrection yourself didn't you? On Godric."

"How did you..."

"The vampire community talks and when a 2000 year old vampire who supposedly met the sun a year ago just suddenly shows up alive, people talk. They didn't know who had done it but I looked around at the people Godric surrounded himself with and when I found out it was Allison, I knew my suspicions were right." Molly looked at me so hard I got the sense that she was trying to figure something out about me and then she suddenly sat back with a smile like the answer had just come to her. "You really are my daughter, you're not just a Faerie. You're a witch too. I can sense it in you."

"Oh dear god, not that shit again." I resisted the urge to hit myself in the head, but as soon as she said this it brought back the odd and very confusing memory of when I met Holly's coven before the battle and her coven leader had said the exact same thing. "You're not the first to say that, but I'm going to tell what I old that old witch. I am not one of you."

"Did this witch say she could sense the magic in you? That she could feel the power in your blood and insisted that you were one of them?" Molly asked it like a question, but to her it was probably just more of a statement. And I had no choice but to agree with her and that made her smile. "Well it's true. You are a witch in your own way. That's why you are so sought after, you possess more power then you thought."

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I am no fucking witch." I was getting sick of people saying that. It seemed like that was always being said these days and it was driving me insane. I didn't understand. "I don't know what you or all these other witches were sensing but..."

"They were sensing me. My witch powers run through my blood and you being my daughter, my blood in turn runs through your veins, so that power they sensed in you, was me." Molly replied with a calm smile as if she were proud of this fact. "But it wasn't just my power other witches could sense. Some of it is your own. Because you have performed witchcraft."

"No...no I haven't." I began shaking my head, my movements so fast that my hair hit me in the face and I had to stop. "I've never studied witchcraft and I have certainly never done any spells or..."

"Actually you did, when you resurrected your friend." Molly looked at Godric and it seemed like she was less annoyed by him then she was of Eric. "I did more research since it was unknown that you could resurrect a vampire after he had met the sun, and apparently Godric had his own run in with witches and for him it was possible to come back. I could sense it on him when he walked in, your blood is in his veins because you used it in the resurrection. You didn't know what you were doing I'm sure, but you did it. And that's magic. That's what was sensed on your from other witches."

"Jesus Christ, I keep getting more weird by the day." I grumbled, sitting back against the cushions with my hair hanging down in front of my face. I never once thought that bringing Godric back was a form of magic, but what else would you call it besides magic. It just never occurred to me until Molly pointed it out. "I really did magic?"

"You most definitely did and it was impressive to hear about since I don't know any witches from any age being able to do this. It's very difficult magic." Molly cocked her head to the side and looked at me with what I recognized as pride in her eyes. I guess it was impressive, but it didn't seem all that difficult to me. But then she went on to explain it further. "You see, when you were drawing blood to rebuild his body, it was a process called Blood Letting. It means, releasing the blood to let it flow for magic. It's a powerful form of witchcraft and and to succeed in doing it under normal circumstances is amazing. But to do it when it applies to bringing a vampire back to life, that's even more impressive. It makes you a powerful witch as well as a Faerie."

"Well I'm so thrilled to find out I'm more of a freak then I thought." I sighed heavily, never realizing I hadn't been breathing properly this whole time. And now that I was taking a moment to reflect on it, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information that had been thrown at me. And I needed to break away for a minute. I stood up suddenly, my actions bringing Eric to his feet as well but I waved him back down as I moved towards the door. "Um, I just...i need a minute or two to process this. Excuse me."

And just like the beginning of the night, I fled from the room and headed towards the kitchen to run out onto the back porch and breathe in the night air.

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

I had been standing outside for about half an hour in the cold night when I heard the back door open and shut and there was a presence behind me that I did not turn around to face. And luckily this person didn't say anything to break the silence I had been in and I was grateful for that. I had been in my own haze for 30 minutes and I wasn't about to come out of it just yet. There was just too much information that had been scrambling around my mind since I left the living room and I just was honestly struggling to figure out what to make of it. Granted, once I had calmed down I was able to realize that this was not the worse thing to happen. Yes it was shocking but it was not necessarily bad. I had been through bad things and this was not one of them. I had survived worse and I would survive this. But in some ways this felt bigger and more insurmountable then anything else. This was my birth mother, showing up after nearly 24 years to tell me all this information about my birth and adoption, my parents, her part in the coven and bring me back to life. She wasn't a threat, but she scared me. She shouldn't have but she did. It was having a stranger come into my life that made me antsy. It was what she knew about me that scared me.

"You've been out here for over half an hour. And in my promise to not be an asshole, I came to check up on you." Eric's voice was steady as I turned around to find him standing in the middle of the porch with his hands tucked into his pockets. His eyes met mine and even I could see the concern he tried to hide. "How are you doing?"

"My birth mother showed up at our front door, with no warning..." I wrapped my arms around myself and leaned back against the railing to look at him with my head tilted. "How do you think I'm doing?"

Eric just looked at me silently for a minute, his eyes going up and down the length of my body. He wasn't being perverted or gross with the way he was looking at me, he was just taking me in. And when his eyes reached my face, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and opened his arms up to me.

"Come here." He said this in what I can only say was his sweetest and softest voice yet. I had never heard him talk like that and it was sort of surprising, but I still went to him knowing that once I was in his arms then I would feel better. I settled with my cheek against his broad chest, his arms locking strongly around me like a shield and I felt calm just like I knew I would. "You know..."

"Why now?" I asked him quietly even though he wouldn't have been able to answer. "Why did she have to show up now? I would have been fine not knowing about her and not knowing that she was the one who brought me back. I didn't have to ever know that and I would have been ok. But then she just shows up out of nowhere. Why couldn't she have stayed away like she had for my whole life?"

"I don't know why she showed up now, she could have put it off for a while. But now we know she's the one responsible for your resurrection and ultimately for leaving you in the ground. So..." Eric sounded like he was leading up to something important to say so I tilted my head back so I could look at him and I was surprised to see him smiling. He touched my face with his fingers before saying. "With your permission, I would like to kill her."

"Oh my god I love you." I actually started laughing after he said this, it just sounded so ridiculously like Eric that it was humorous to hear it in this kind of moment. "That was funny."

"I was serious." Eric frowned, obviously not getting what I was finding funny.

"I know you were serious but you saying it so casually was what got to me. And you tend to say things like that you're worried about me." I grinned up at him, so grateful that he was here with me. "It's kind of ironic that you would show your love for me by saying you would like to kill my birth mother."

"Well I'm glad you find this so fucking amusing." Eric scoffed, his eyes rolling at me so fast that it made me dizzy. He stopped and stared at me with his eyebrows raised. "She hurt you with her actions, I reserve the right to kill her on that basis alone."

"I know you feel like you have to hurt anyone who has hurt me, just because you love me so much. But you can't kill my birth mother, she's a part of me whether I like it or not." I shook my head at him, essentially letting him know that violence was not going to be the answer in this case. I may not be ok with the way things were going, but they were already in motion and I might as well take advantage of it. "She has the answers to any question I could have about my past. And I've always felt out of place in my own life and even more so after I found out I was adopted. I didn't know where I fit in but maybe with her being around, I can feel more at peace with who I am."

"I don't care. I don't care at all." Eric growled, releasing me from his arms and stepping back with a frown. "I don't trust her, she's a witch."

"Oh come on, you know you can't judge all witches based on our past experiences." I smiled, reaching up to run my fingers through my hair. "And besides, apparently I'm kind of a witch too. But you still love me."

"That's kind of a given." He smirked, stepping closer to me with his hands tucked back into his pockets. "I could never not loved you, no matter what you are."

"See? I knew you were a reasonable man." I grinned, reaching out for him so I could stand up on my toes and kiss him. He kept his hands on my hips even as I pulled away and said. "If I'm willing to at least listen to her, then you should as well."

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"I cannot believe you left Godric alone with Molly. She may like him better then you but they didn't exactly hit it off earlier." I furiously whispered to Eric as we walked back inside the house and headed towards the living room where we had left the two of them. But it was far too quiet to believe that there were still people in the house other then him and I. "Are you sure neither of them left?"

"Oh they are still here. They are just not exactly chatting it up as you would say." Eric smirked down at me before placing his hand on my lower back and directed me towards the living room door way and when I looked in, I saw that he was entirely right. Godric and Molly were still sitting on the same couches they were on when I left and were now just glaring at each other in complete silence. Eric chuckled and said said. "See? I told you."

"Allison, you finally came back." Godric was the first to say something once our presence was noticed in the doorway. He went to get up but I shook my head to say he could stay seated as I stepped into the room. His eyes were trailed on my face as paused in the middle between the two couches. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I just needed a second to process all this." I assured him, sending a smile his way because if he wasn't convinced that I was alright then he would go into overprotective mode and might lash out violently. "But I'm ok now and I'm ready to hear whatever else needs to be said."

"Good,because there is more I need to tell you. Perhaps the most important part of all." Molly spoke up, looking at me in surprise when I left Eric's side and went to sit down on the other end of the couch she was on. I saw the shock on Eric and Godric but neither of them gave voice to it, even as Molly eyed them cautiously. "Do they have to be here? Can they..."

"No, they stay. I want them here." I don't know where that tone of mine came from but I was glad it had because I was tired of being the girl that didn't exert her opinion. And my opinion was that the two of them stay here and I wasn't about to change my mind on that. But I was curious as to why she didn't want them there. "Why does it matter if they stay here?"

"Because, the one last thing I need to tell you about is your birth father." She turned her head away from the two vampires and looked at me with a slight frown on her face. Whatever it was that she had to tell about the man who had impregnated her had to have been bad. "It's because of him that I gave you up."

"Then how does that relate to vampires?" I frowned, not seeing the connection at all, even though to her it seemed to be obvious. "What do vampires and my birth father have to do with each other?"

"Because your father is a vampire." Molly said this so casually that I thought I had heard completely wrong. So I stared straight into her eyes, thinking I would see the doubt somewhere in there, but there was none. Her voice may not have been serious, but her eyes were and that was the most convincing evidence of all.

"What the fuck?" I was so shocked by this unexpected turn of events that I couldn't stop what came out of my mouth. "How is that even fucking possible..."

"I'll explain from the beginning if you will let me." She held up her hands, asking me for silence and to refrain from cursing her out again. Once she knew for sure I was going to be quiet, she went on. "Your father and I had a bad relationship and he was already horrible by nature in his human life and that's why things didn't work out for us. And it's ultimately because of him, that you were given to your parents."

"You said that you gave me up because you couldn't take care of me..."

"That was a lie, I just wasn't ready to tell you about him yet. But I will now, since you have every right to know." Molly twisted her hands together in her lap, obviously nervous about telling me about him. "You see, your father was a half faerie like I was. We met at school and started dating. But after a while, his true colors came out and I saw just how mean and cruel he was. It wasn't long after that when I found out I was pregnant. I told him and he split, and I didn't see him again for months. He just vanished."

"Did he ever come back?"

"He did. I was about 4 months along when he returned one night, I was so shocked to just suddenly see him that I didn't even notice the way he was staring at me. And not in a good way, he was looking at me like I was a piece of meat. And it was that look that made me see him for what he was now. And I realized that in those months he had been gone, he had been turned." Molly's eyes clouded over as she seemed to be drawn back in the past. "It wasn't long after he appeared that he tried to kill me. He was already a bad person, but being turned into a vampire and smelling my blood, was enough to put him into a frenzy. He bit me and was drinking me with the intent to kill me. But I was able to fight him off and I silvered him. But he escaped before I could stake him. But still, he liked to pop back in to find me every couple of years after that."

"You were scared for me."

"Yes. I knew that with your bloodlines, that you were going to be 100 percent Fae and if he came back around to see me and he saw you, then he would have tried to kill you too. Your blood was going to be more intoxicating then mine and I knew there would be no stopping him once he saw you. He would hunt you down just to get at your essence and I couldn't have that." She broke out of her thoughts and looked at me like she was seeing me for the first time. "I knew the only way to keep you safe was to give you to the Stackhouses. That way if he came back for me, he couldn't find you. So I stayed away, so I wouldn't lead him to you."

"You were scared and you gave me up to protect me, I get that..." I felt my eyes blur over with tears when she finished talking, I was mad. I felt abandoned even if it was for my protection. She was a witch and a faerie. Surely she could have come up with some way to come back to me. But she chose not to. "You gave me away for my own safety, but you never showed up once to check to see if I was ok. Did you not want me or even care after you let me go?"

"Of course I wanted you, I always wanted you. But I couldn't just pop up in your life when you belonged to your parents and were happy." She also teared up right along with me. She made a move like she was going to reach out for my hand but I shrank back away from her. "I couldn't shake things up for you and risk bringing your father into the mix just because I missed you."

"But you can risk it now?" I snapped, my tears sliding down my face before I could stop them. "What's so different now?"

"You needed to understand what happened to you and I was the only one who could answer your questions." Molly sighed and looked down at her clasped hands. "Please just give me a chance to know you..."

"You think it's that easy?" I asked, shaking my head furiously before getting to my feet. " You think you can show up after all this time and drop the truth on me and it will all be ok? That I'm just going to run into your arms and cry happy tears that I have my mommy back? It's not going to happen. I'm almost 24 years old, I don't need a mother now. And if I did, it would be the one I lost when I was a kid, not you."

"This is a lot to take in, I know. And its been a long night, so I think I will take my leave now." She announced, standing up and reached into her jacket pocket for a slip of paper that she pulled out and set on the table in front of me. "I'm leaving my number, in case you change your mind. Good bye Allison."

I didn't meet her eyes as she walked passed me and out of the room. I didn't feel the couch sink as both Eric and Godric took to my side and grabbed a hold of my hands. It was only when the door shut and it was just the three of us alone again, that I started sobbing.

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

"Do you need anything?" Godric's voice asked me quietly as if he thought too loud of a tone would send me into another crying fit like I had don when Molly left. I laid between him and Eric on my bed upstairs, finding it odd that they would be ok with this arrangement, but I needed them both close by for the moment and they didn't resist it. I turned on my side to look at my best friend whose face showed the depths of his concern. "Just tell me what you want me to do and I will do it."

"Can you call Sookie and Bill for me and explain everything? Just tell them what happened and that I'm ok. They will want to come here but they don't need to." I reached around me for Eric's arm and pulled it over me like a blanket. "I just want you and Eric here tonight."

"Ok, I can do that. I am very persuasive." Godric smiled, ruffling my hair with his fingers before I watched him get off the bed and go flying out of the room, giving me and Eric some much needed privacy. I rolled back over to face him, finding his eyes staring intently into mine and I knew just what he was thinking about about and I was glad I had him here with me as I was also thinking the same thing. I curled up at his side and groaned.

"Just when I though I knew every thing there was to know about my life, I get hit with this." I wanted to go back in time and wished I had never opened the door. I didn't want to deal with this new development. My life was already complicated enough and this was just another hurdle to have to jump over. Why couldn't I just get a moment to breathe? Why did I have to get so many damn obstacles that were forever going to damage me emotionally for the rest of my life? I lifted my head to look at him and shook my head. "And I thought last night's revelation was the worse thing to deal with."

"This is slightly more of a bigger deal, but..." Eric laughed, showing that he obviously was determined to get me to go along with him. He looked at me hopefully and asked. "Does it cancel out my little indiscretion?"

"Not at all." I did smile at least from his comment, knowing he was trying to end the night on a less awkward note then it had begun. I placed my hand on his face and said. "But you being protective of me of me tonight does help your cause."

"I'll always be protective of you." He leaned over and pressed his lips against mine for what was the sweetest and briefest kiss we had shared yet. He leaned his head against mine and said. "Even from your past, I will protect you."


	19. That was then, this is now

**Chapter 19 That was then, this is now**

_The next afternoon_

"So, should I even ask how you are doing?" Sookie broke the silence that had been between us since we sat down at the table inside the diner and ordered coffee and when I looked up to meet her waiting eyes, I saw the same look of concern there that had been present since we got together late this afternoon. She put her hands together on top of the table and said. "Because when Godric called us last night and told us what happened, I was sure you would be a mess. But you seem to be ok. Unless that's just a facade."

"No I was more emotional as it was happening last night, but then it kind of passed and I'm not exactly sure what to think about everything." I shrugged my shoulders at her, feeling truth behind my words as I hadn't been able to pin point what my thoughts were about Molly and the information she had shared with me. It was a lot to take in, in a very short amount of time and with the shock of her showing up out of nowhere , it didn't make things any easier. "I don't know how I feel about her, to be honest. I mean, I always thought that if I were to meet my birth mother, then I would feel this instant connection. But I didn't feel anything. But maybe that was just because it just happened and it was with no notice. Maybe once things settle I can think more clearly."

"Yea.." Sookie mumbled, nodding her head slightly as she looked down at her fingers that she had begun to twist around each other. It wouldn't have been obvious to any one who didn't really know her, but Sookie and I had been close all our live and I knew her body language as well as I knew my own. Still, she tried to pass it off like nothing was wrong. "So why do..."

"Why do you look guilty?" I suddenly asked, recognizing the look almost as quickly as it had appeared on her face. "You have that look on your face when you're not telling me something. Are you hiding something?"

"No." Sookie's eyes snapped up to my face, a flash of worry in her features as she stared at me. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I know you and I know when you're lying to me. No offense Sookie,but you do not have a good poker face." I pointed out, almost with a smirk as it seemed to dawn on her that she hadn't been as careful about hiding her feelings as she thought she had. And I knew if she was hiding something from me, it wasn't for a malicious reason. She only lied when she was trying to protect me and I had a feeling that this would be the case now. "You can tell me, you know. I promise I won't get upset."

"Hold off on that until you hear this..." Sookie grumbled, obviously doubting that I would remain calm once she told me whatever it was that she was hiding. She looked up at me with her teeth clenched tightly and said. "Ok, um...a few nights before you were resurrected, Molly came to Bon Temps and visited Bill and I at home. She told us she was your mother."

"You knew this already?" I wasn't expecting her to say that. I thought Molly hadn't made contact with anyone besides me so to hear she had already reached out to Sookie before I was even brought back was shocking, to say the least. And what was even more shocking was that I had been back for over a month and she never said anything to me. She could have warned me about this, that Molly might suddenly pop up again and she hadn't done that. I looked at her with a frown. " Why didn't you say anything until now?"

"Because at the time I was too distraught with my grief to even think about it. And then when you came back, it was hard enough to deal with getting you back on track and I didn't want to add more to your recovery when you already were struggling. So I just stayed quiet until things were really calm and then I was going to tell you. I didn't think she was just going to come back this soon." Sookie explained, looking ashamed of keeping this from me and she actually dropped her gaze and looked down at the table while she went on talking. "I didn't know that she was the one behind your resurrection. She just told us that she was your mom and I told her that we couldn't deal with this right now and that's when I closed the door on her. And we hadn't heard from her since."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me. Last night would have been less of a surprise if I had known she was out there trying to make contact." I frowned deeply again as I spoke. I wasn't mad or even annoyed by this. I knew my cousin meant well when she kept it from me, but I was just wishing I had known so I would have been better prepared for what I had heard. Granted, Sookie didn't know much but I would have had some idea about what was coming my way. But then again, she had a good point. After I was resurrected, it was hard enough to regain a normal life, without adding on the extra burden of knowing my birth mother had been trying to reach out to us. It would have been too much to take on after those first few initial days, so I couldn't really fault Sookie for not saying anything. "Sookie, you can relax. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" Sookie's head snapped up again, her eyes growing wide. "Why?"

"Because I can kind of see where you're coming from and when I think about it, it was probably for the best at the time." I smiled at her to back up my claim that I wasn't upset with her. She took these things hard and would need plenty of assurance, so I reached out and took her hand in mine. "I mean, it still took me by surprise and I wish I did have some notice. But what's done is done and now we just have to deal with this new development."

"Do you think you will try and have a relationship with her?" She asked, smiling in relief as she squeezed my hand back tightly. "Now that she's in the picture for the first time, do you want to know her?"

"Honestly? I don't know." I really didn't know. And not just because it only happened last night, but because whenever I had thought about it, I never really settled on what I would do if I ever found myself in this situation. I never really decided if I wanted to have a relationship wit my birth mother if I ever had the chance. Maybe because I never thought it would happen. And now that it had, I had some very tough things to consider. I looked at my cousin and sighed. "I already had a mother and I don't need another one."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"So you seem to be in a better mood then you were last night." Godric said to me later that day as we sat together outside on the back porch of the house just after the sun had set and talked about last night's events and he expressed his surprise that he had found me in better spirits then he had when he returned to the room last night. "I suppose Eric had something to do with it."

"He was helpful and sweet, for once." I smiled at the thought of how Eric had laid beside me for hours last night in complete silence and just held me in his arms,which ended up doing more for my state of mind then I thought it could. It had put me back on steady ground and I felt a wave of comfort even as I thought back to everything I had learned. I wished he was here right now, but Pam had needed him at the bar so he was going to be there for at least a few hours and it was Godric who had come to keep me company for the night. And I was just as grateful for his presence as I would have been for Eric's. "But I also spent some time with Sookie today and we talked about the whole Molly and that helped too."

"Well I'm glad for that, you've had a lot to deal with these past few months and its only fair that you find something to help you through this." Godric turned and smiled at me, his calm demeanor never wavering as he spoke. "It's hard to deal with having someone that close to you disappear from your life when you are that young only to reappear when you don't really need them anymore."

"Yep, that's exactly the Molly situation. " I nodded in agreement, tucking my hands under my arms. It was true. A mother was suppose to be the closest person to a child and to have them disappear when you are just a baby and never show up your entire life was hard enough to deal with. But then for her to come back back when I was an adult and I didn't her was even more confusing and I just wasn't sure what I was suppose to do with this. I turned to look at my best friend and asked. "What do you think I should do?"

"That is entirely up to you. Only you can decide if you want anything to come of this." Godric shrugged, his eyes meeting mine before he smiled gently. "It's your choice, but think about something for a second. At least you have the option to get to know your birth mother. Not many people ever get a second chance to fix things that went wrong in their lives. And if I had that chance then I would take it. But like I said, only you can make that choice."

"Can I ask you something then?" I questioned as a sudden thought hit me as a direct result of what he had just said and like that, the conversation took a whole different turn. When he nodded for me to go on, I did. "If you really feel that way about second chances, then why haven't you tried to be friends with Louie again?"

"Where the hell did that come from?' Godric's voice went to be on the defensive so quickly that I knew their history was a lot heavier then I even knew despite all the little hints Louie had dropped. Godric's face had turned from calm to guarded and when he spoke again, his tone was just as wary as his expression. "My situation with Louie is more complicated then you can understand."

"Is it because of Helen?" I knew I was about to be treading on dangerous ground with the direction I was going in. Godric and Louie had both expressed their desire to not talk about her in the past, but their tendency to indirectly mention her was rousing my suspicions more then ever and all thoughts of my own problems went away as I looked at Godric. "I mean, I know she..."

"What has he been telling you?" Godric suddenly demanded, his eyes flashing with panic as if there was something big he was worried about me finding out. "If he has the nerve to ever..."

"Godric, relax. He didn't tell me anything or show me anything about you." I had to assure my friend, turning to face him and seeing that his entire body had now tensed up from where this talk was going and I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. "He only showed me memories of him and Helen, nothing involving you."

"I don't care." Godric's eyes shot downward to his hands that were tightly curled into fists on his lap, glaring at them as if they were responsible for this. He glanced at me and said in a slightly darker voice. "He still shouldn't be sharing memories from that time. It's not right."

"I don't see why he can't share his own memories with me." I tilted my head to the side, wishing I could understand why Godric suddenly seemed so different from the vampire I had befriended. He was tense and defensive and that kind of behavior usually came when a person was feeling guilty about something. I raised my eyebrows at him and asked. "Is it because you're worried about me finding out about your past? Was it really that bad?"

"That's my business, not yours. And as my friend, I hope you won't try and find out." Godric sighed, his face dispensing any darkness that had been there and he was now just staring at the night sky with a blank expression that told me nothing. "I have parts of my past that I just want to keep to myself. And when I want to share a memory with you, then I will. But until then, please stay away from my past."

"I'm just trying to help." I replied, wrapping my arms around myself and sat back against the chair and propped my feet up on the railing and looked at the stars like Godric was doing. "I know what's like to lose a friend and you're my friend and I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy." Godric responded by reaching over and squeezing my hand briefly before letting go. "I like my life now and I prefer to leave the past right where it is."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

"You and I need to have a talk right now." Godric said about 60 minutes later after he had left Allison alone at Eric's house and had come immediately to the woods to seek out Louie. It had taken him a while because every time he gotten the slightest hint of footsteps in the distance, it seemed that Louie had picked him up as well and had taken off away from him. So Godric had been forced to chase after his former friend until the vampire who shared his exact age had finally come to a stop and stood in a clearing near a quickly moving river while Godric caught up with him and faced him head on. "You are going to stay away from Allison. You will no longer meet up with her or talk to her. Am I clear?"

"Don't try and act like I have to listen to you because I don't. You are not my maker and you are not even my friend. " Louie shot back with no resistant to the tone that had edge into his voice, making him sound unlike the even tempered vampire he had always been. "And you can't force me to listen either. We're exactly the same the age, you can't exert your power over me. So don't even try."

"I'm not trying to be a bully, I'm just being honest." Godric felt himself starting to fill with anger, over his wish not being fulfilled right away. He should have known that Louie was not going to give in to him right off the bat. They were too similar in personalities and when they both felt like they were right, they didn't give in for anything. "Allison was my friend first and you can't just come in and try to be in her life too just because she is a faerie."

"This is not about what she is, its about who she is. And I've come to realize that she is actually a very nice girl and I feel lucky that she considers me a friend." Louie narrowed his blue green eyes at him, his face losing any calmness as it began to darken. "And I can be friends with anyone I want, no matter who or what they are."

"You are pushing me to the brink Louie." Godric growled, never imagining he would feel this way towards his old friend and vampire brother. "You should have stayed away after I came to you for help that first time, but you didn't. And now you're shoving me to the edge."

"You're shoving yourself to the edge Godric." Louie scoffed, eying him hard. "You're making something out of nothing. It doesn't have to matter if she and I are friends."

"Do not try to one up me this time and be the better person." Godric found himself snapping at the taller vampire, drawn back in to the dark shadows of his past as he stood there in the present. "You are not going to edge me out like you did with Helen."

"Oh dear god you are such a little prick." Louie's face flashed with all the annoyance that Godric was sure was filling up every inch of his body from the sharp turn this confrontation had taken. "I did not edge you out. She fell in love with me too and she was honest about her feelings to the both of us. She never lied about that. It's not my fault she wanted to be with me in the end and not you."

"Well don't think it will be the same with Allison. Don't think that just because you have the more clean cut past, that she will want to be your friend more."Godric felt his face tightened, not use to feeling this territorial towards someone he use to have a life time of memories with. But it was those very memories that made him want to keep the distance now. "I put in the time to gain her trust and become her friend and you are not going to take over and..."

"You are acting like this is a freaking contest and it's not." Louie exclaimed, rolling his eyes in exasperation as his hands curled down at his sides. " It wasn't a contest then and it's not going to be one now."

"Well of course you can say that because you would already win." Godric glared at Louie, feeling a hatred rise up in him that had laid dormant for many years. "You have all the ammunition you need to..."

"So that's what this is about..." Louie frowned and raised his eyebrows in realization before shaking his head. "You're afraid that I will tell her something that you don't want her to know. That's it, isn't it?"

"Of course it is. I'm different now and I don't want her to ever see that side of me." Godric felt his face go slack as he imagined what Allison would think if she ever knew of what he had done in his younger years. It was so horrifying that it even haunted him. He looked at Louie and said. " I haven't been that way in many years and I would rather just forget it."

"Neither of us is perfect, Godric. But you can't pretend like you never did anything wrong." Louie just had to make a point of reminding him of that, as if he could forget it truly. It just wasn't possible. "You forget that I've seen you at your worst times and I know what..."

"Shut up! Don't speak of those times, they don't exist for me anymore." Godric growled, interrupting Louie before he could give voice to those dark times. It wasn't just dark memories, it was memories of screams and spilt blood and when he looked back at those moments, he wished that he had never been brought back to life. "You will not tell Allison anything about it. She doesn't need to know."

"You can be delusional sometimes." Louie shook his head, his hands going deep into his pockets before he spoke again. " You can't run from the past. It's always going to be a part of you."

"Well you would know a little something about not being able to out run the past, wouldn't you?" Godric scoffed, feeling his patience run out as he stood there and now he just wanted to lash out. So he did. "It's been how many years and you still haven't put Helen's death behind you."

"Don't you even fucking start." Louie shouted, his fangs extending in a flash and he was up and in Godric's face before either of them could blink. "Let's not forget why she's dead in the first place."

"I would love to start ripping you apart right now now." Godric's fangs also came out in the moment when it seemed like things were going to boil over. But he resisted, knowing he would regret to once things had calmed down. And if Allison had discovered he had attacked Louie then she would be furious. So he stepped back and took the less violent approach. "I'm not doing this with you. I just came here to tell you to stop being friends with Allison. Or there will be trouble."

"Who do you think you are talking to?" Louie's fangs were still extended, not backing down in the slightest as they glared at each other. " Do not threaten me or we will have a problem."

"Don't forget that we've always had problems." Godric sent him one last look before he turned and began to walk away, catching Louie's last statement before they separated for good.

"And you should remember that I never forget...about anything."

* * *

><p><em><span>45 minutes later<span>_

"Are you ok? You've been acting really weird since you showed up here." I said to Louie, sitting with him against a tree on the edge of the property I shared with Eric and studied him intently. He had showed up so suddenly in the backyard while I was waiting for Godric to return from where ever he had gone, and I was glad to see him. But since then, he had remained fairly quiet and detached which I had learned was not really him. "If you didn't really want to be around people then why did you come to see me?"

"I don't know, I just didn't feel like being alone right now." Louie told me, scratching his head while he drew one leg up close to his chest and wrapped his hands around his knee. "It's been an odd night."

"Yea, I know what that's like." I nodded, turning my head to look at him and saw the tightness in his face and body and it made me wonder what the hell had happened to him. He was always so full of energy and fire and now it look like it had been stolen out of him. "Did something happen?"

"What makes you think that?" He twisted his head to stare into my eyes and it was now that I saw the torment raging inside of him and I was desperate to know why he was looking like that. He musty have realized that I saw that in him because he blinked his eyes rapidly and turned his head away again and said. "Because nothing is wrong."

"Don't lie to me." I scoffed, placing my hand on his cheek and turning him back to face me but as soon as my skin made contact with his, I felt that familiar tug at my head and before I knew it, I was being pulled into his mind to hear things I wasn't meant to hear.

_"I can't tell her what I was thinking about, I can't let her know about Godric."_

_"He would be furious if he knew I let it slip about his past. He has always wanted to forget that and as much as I can't stand him, I won't betray him like that."_

_"..she can't ever know about the children...or what Godric did to them..."_

"What the hell do you think you are doing?' Louie's hand wrapped itself around my wrist and pulled my hand away from his face, bringing me back out to the present to see him looking horrified. "Stay out my head."

"What did he do? What did he do to children that you're afraid for me to know?" I demanded, slipping my arm out of his grasp. I hadn't seen anything but the frantic way his thoughts were screaming inside his head said it was very bad. "Louie, tell me what he did."

"I can't tell you." Louie shook his head so quickly that it became a blur. "You already heard too much..."

I grabbed his arm before he could finish speaking and this time I was thrown back in his mind quicker then before. Only now I was seeing the past being played out before my eyes and it was more disturbing then I could ever imagine...

_"Godric! What have you done?" Louie came to a skidding stop at the cave's opening and stared straight ahead of him at the carnage before his eyes. Bodies littered the ground in piles all around him, some in parts and some whole. Some covered completely in blood and others with not a drop straining their skin. But all of them with something in common. They were corpses of children, young children. Children who would now never live to see their adult lives play out. They had been brought to a sudden and violent end by the vampire on the ground in front of them. Louie felt his own nose twitch at the smell of blood in the air, but he never felt the desire to give in to that hunger. Not when he saw the way it had been brought about. "How could you do this?"_

_"I was hungry. I needed the blood." Godric looked up from his spot on the floor, the red liquid dripping down his chin like a river as the small boy lay underneath him unmoving. "Do not say what I know you will say.."_

_"These are children Godric! Young children and you slaughtered them like cattle." Louie felt his face go blank as he stared into the eyes of his best friend and saw no remorse or shame for what he had done. "You said you had it under control. You said you wouldn't do it again."_

_"Well I told a falsehood, because there is no sweeter blood then the blood of __a child." The dark haired vampire said, his eyes wild with thirst as he pushed aside the now drained body of the little boy and got to his feet. "I enjoyed it and I will do it again if I wish."_

_"How can you do this?" Louie knew what it was like to feel the hot flare up of hunger that sometimes threatened to consume their entire being. It was natural for vampires to feel that. But to satisfy it with the blood of children was just inhumane. "It's one thing to go after adult humans and feed on them. But to chase down children and drain them? That's the epitome of evil. ..."_

_"No, hunting them down just to kill them for fun is the epitome of evil." Godric growled, wiping his blood stained lips with the back of his hand. "They're humans just like the rest, only tinier. They are beneath us and we should treat them as such."_

_"That's not you, its the blood talking. You're drunk off of it. When it passes you will see sense." Louie tried to get him to believe, feeling sickened by this side of his friend. "You cannot be this way. I know we must hunt the humans to survive, but it shouldn't be this way."_

_"Why not? I see no harm in hunting children for sport.."_

"Oh my god." I pulled back from Louie in complete and utter horror and tried to scramble to my feet, but he grabbed a hold of me and held me down on the ground even as I felt tears beginning to build up in my eyes. "He hunted children? He drained them and just said it was for fun? He was so cruel. That's not him, that is not the person I know and love..."

"You can't tell him that you know. You were never suppose to see that and if he finds out that you forced yourself into my head and saw what he was hiding, he will come back and give me hell." Louie shook me hard as if he thought shaking me would take away what I had just seen. But nothing would ever get that image out of my head. "I mean it, you have to stay quiet about it..."

"Did he say something to you?" I calmed down long enough to take in the expression on his face and it made suspicion swirl up in my mind. "Because you're insistence makes me think he threatened you in some way."

"He didn't threaten me, but he did come to see me about 90 minutes ago and we did have a little bit of a confrontation." Louie relented, letting me go and sitting back with a panicked look in his eyes. "He didn't want me to be friends with you any more. He asked me to stay away because he didn't want us around each other. He was afraid of you finding out bad things about him, like you did just now. I told him I wasn't going to show you anything about him, but he still tried to force me into breaking off our friendship."

"I can't believe he would go that far, he never gets mean like that. But don't worry, I won't let it slip that I saw that memory. It won't just be bad for you if he knows I know." I shook my head, knowing it wasn't just Louie's safety that was on the line, it was mine too. After my conversation with Godric earlier, I saw how defensive he got about sharing anything with me and if he got like that about my questioning, then there was no telling what he would do if he knew I actually saw it. So I would have to stay silent about this. "But is it even safe for us to be friends if he has such a problem with it?"

"I'm not going to let Godric bully me around just because he's paranoid." Louie said, biting down on his bottom lip with determination. "If we want to be friends then we will be and he can't stop us."

"Good because I really do like you and I would hate to lose your friendship." I told him, pleased that he wasn't about to let this slip away just because of a potential problem. "I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass."

"Yea, you and me both."

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours later<span>_

"Why do you look so distracted?" Eric asked me later that night as we laid together in bed and he ran a finger under my chin to get me to look at him. He had returned not long after Louie had left and I had done my best to act like everything was normal and ok even though I kept seeing flashes of Godric feeding on that poor little boy. I was able to keep up the ruse all through dinner and up until the point of when we came up here to lay down. But for the past 20 minutes or so, he had been trying to talk to me and I just was barely able to take in his questions before he had grown frustrated and asked me what was wrong. "Don't lie, I feel it in your blood. Something's bothering you."

"I'm just thinking about the Molly situation." I replied, knowing it was a plausible excuse for my inattentiveness. And it was true that it had been on my mind all day as well. Just not as much as the Godric thing now was. I looked at Eric's frowning face and sighed. " I was talking to Godric and Sookie about it today and I just don't know what I'm suppose to do about it. I feel like I have to reach out to her because she is my birth mother. But I don't know if I really want to. And it kind of has me down."

"Yea, I can tell." Eric nodded, his fingers stroking my cheek softly as his eyes searched my face and I saw him begin to smirk at me like he had something up his sleeve. "I can pick you up again."

"Oh really?" I actually found myself perking up at this statement. When Eric said something like that, it was usually guaranteed to get my mind off whatever was bothering me. "How do you plan to do that?"

"By actually picking you up." He said evilly before scooping me up in his arms and swinging his feet down to the floor and headed towards the bathroom. I squirmed in his arms so much that he ended up flinging me over his shoulder, causing me to laugh and hit at his back as he flicked on the lights. "Stop with the hitting, that's domestic abuse."

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" I squealed, hearing him open the door to the shower before I heard the sound of pounding water fill my ears. And that's when I knew he was really up to no good. "Eric, don't you dare..."

"How about you don't threaten me?" He asked, slapping me on the ass before proceeding to shove me under the shower head and directly in the path of the freezing cold water. I heard a scream of frustration leave my mouth but even that didn't stop him from laughing at me. "Gee Allison, could you possibly be mad at me right now?"

"Oh you have no idea." I growled, glaring at him as the water dribbled into my eyes, blocking him from view as my hand reached out blindly to grab at him. I felt my fingers brush against his chest and I yanked a fistful of his black shirt forward. "Get in here so I can kill you."

Eric didn't say anything and just followed me in since I lacked the strength to actually pull him anywhere. He shut the sliding glass door behind him before he pressed himself and me against the wall and his lips were soon attacking mine. I could feel myself grin as he kissed me, feeling the flutter in my stomach as his hands captured my face and his fingers caressed my wet hair. The water was still freezing but with the way he was pressed against me, I could feel my body heating up, wiping away every worry from my mind and replacing it with a feeling that he was the only one I was focused on. And I liked that feeling a lot. It meant that I was confident he would always be here with me. I pulled away from him briefly to look in his eyes.

"I love you." I pulled him back to me to be the one to initiate the kiss,almost giving into the lust I felt until he was the one to pull back.

"I love you more." His husky voice whispered before he grabbed my lips again.


	20. Who are you tonight?

**Chapter 20 Who are you tonight?**

_The next night_

"You know what? I think tonight is actually going to be uneventful for once." I said quietly to Eric as I sat beside him up on stage at Fangtasia and looked around at the crowds surrounding us which was not very many. In fact, besides Eric and Pam there were no other vampires in the bar at the moment. It was all humans and because of that, I had complete confidence that Eric and I could relax and just have a calm night out. We both needed it after the weeks of stress we had been having, so I sat back and reached for his hand, noticing the jealous looks thrown my way and whispered "Ok I take it back. Some of these women look like they want to hurt me for touching you."

"I didn't even notice them." Eric replied back with a smirk playing up his lips as he turned his head to stare at me. His face looked innocent enough, but I had seen his eyes earlier in the night look at some other women briefly before focusing on me. It had flamed a fire of jealousy in me, but I tried not to let it fester. Eric had always looked at women his entire life and I was his only real relationship so it was taking him time to get use to figuring out how to act. But as long as he didn't do more then look, then I was ok with it. "I have to say, the way you look tonight is making bad things go through my head."

"When is that ever not true?" I asked with a smile, giggling under my breath as I saw the way he was raising his eyebrows at me suggestively. It took me a second to figure out what he was trying to do but when it hit me, I leaned back away from him and shook my head. "Oh no you don't. I am not going to willingly read your mind when I know you purposely have naughty things on the brain."

"Oh why not? It could be fun." Eric pointed out, his hand lingering on my leg that was barely covered by a pair of tight black jeans. "This new ability of yours could work to my advantage."

"I knew you would eventually try and use it to get your way, it was only a matter of time." I shook my head in amusement, amazed that Eric's tune about me reading his mind had changed so quickly. It wasn't all that long ago when he was looking at me like I was a freak. And now he was inviting me to peek into his head just so I could take notice of the dirty things he was thinking about. It was typical Eric Northman, but I wouldn't have it any other way. "You have a one track mind, you know that right?"

"I have never tried to hide that fact and you know that." Eric's blue eyes sparkled mischievously and I knew if this night ended eventfully then it was going to be back at the house and that thought made me squirm. Eric smiled triumphantly as he said "Calm yourself down. Getting aroused in a vampire bar is not safe, but at least the only vampires here are Pam and I ..."

"And me." Godric's voice came out of nowhere so suddenly that it took me by surprise and I almost jumped out of the chair and fell off stage. He moved fast and caught me in his arms to steady me on my feet before his confused gaze met mine. "Are you ok? You seem really jumpy all of sudden. You're never like that when I show up."

"I...I'm sorry. You just took me by surprise, that's all." I sounded flustered and out of breath when I removed myself from his arms. I could try to pass it off as just shock but I knew the real reason why I had jumped nearly out of my own skin when Godric appeared. It was the reason why I was standing there between both vampires, looking at him like I half expected that monster form the memory to come roaring out of him. But he just looked like the same old calm Godric that I always knew, so I had to keep that in mind. "I just feel everything piling up since I came back and I'm not really myself. It's just getting to be a lot."

"I understand." Godric nodded, reaching over to pat my shoulder and I had to summon every ounce of strength in me to not flinch under his touch. "Things will get better, I promise you."

"Of course they will, or else I will be furious." Eric piped up, seemingly not aware of the strange reaction I had to Godric's arrival and just took it as my stress being too much. He smiled at his maker before his hand reached for my waist to pull me to his side. "Things will calm down, no matter what. Because if they don't then I will never get laid again."

"Eric!" I exclaimed, feeling my body go from tense to absolute embarrassment as he said this with no shame in front of Godric. Of course Eric wouldn't feel weird about it but Godric had always been uncomfortable with the idea of talking about sex and me in the same sentence. He looked at me like a little girl, like I was his daughter and no father wanted to hear about his daughter having sex with a gorgeous man. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "You know what? I'm going to leave you here with Godric to complain about the lack of sex I'm giving you and I'm going to go to the bar to get a drink. I will be back later."

"This could take a while, I do have a lot of complaining to do." Eric retorted smartly as I stepped down off the stage and started heading towards the bar.

I looked over my shoulder to see Godric taking the chair I had been in and they were both watching me with completely different looks. Eric was staring after me with lust in his eyes while Godric was looking at me in a more friendly way. A way that I wished I could return truthfully but I could only manage it half way. I turned back to face the bar, knowing I would have to get better at acting normal around Godric if I was hoping to keep my secret about seeing his memory to myself. I couldn't let him know that I had seen it because then it would really change things between us.

Even more then they already were changing.

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Well you certainly look like you have something on your mind." Pam leaned over the bar towards me with a suggestive look on her face. "Care to share with me? I can be great at...listening."

"No thanks Pam, I think I'll be ok by myself for now." I rolled my eyes in her direction as she slithered way in mock disappointment while I went back to sipping my glass of wine like I had been doing since I got it over 10 minutes ago.

I hadn't returned yet to the stage which was ok with me because Godric and Eric seemed to be enjoying whatever it was that they were talking about and I didn't wan to interrupt. It also gave me a moment to collect myself before I would have to face my best friend again and I sure as hell needed that time. I didn't want to admit that I was feeling weird around him, but I was. This was exactly why I hadn't taken up Louie's offer the other night to see Godric's dark side because I had known Louie would be right about me never looking at Godric the same way again. And it was true. Even though I had reached into Louie's mind without permission, I hadn't expected that memory to be so dark and disturbing and now I wished I had never forced myself into it. Because now every time I closed my eyes or I looked at Godric, all I saw was that wild face with the blood of children dripping down his chin. It was like a scene in a horror movie I wished I had never seen and I didn't know what it was going to take to erase that from my mind.

"Well isn't this a surprise to end all surprises." A husky voice said from behind me, breaking me out of my cloud of thought and I turned around instantly to find not a human, but a vampire standing behind me with a relaxed smile on his face.

"Louie!" I exclaimed, jumping off my stool and reaching out to hug him like he was an old friend of mine instead of a newly appointed comrade. All thoughts of Godric and that memory went out the window as I pulled back from him with a smile on my face and my chest full of shock at seeing him in the last place I ever thought he would be in. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured it was time for me to walk among other vampires for once, even if it was just for one night." He told me with a smile, his eyes darting around the nearly vampire free room before landing on the stage and catching sight of Eric and Godric staring right at us. Louie didn't seem fazed at all when he and Godric locked eyes and Godric's face went dark. Louie just shrugged and turned to look down at me with a smile. "So I came here, not really thinking I would find amusement in the slightest. But it was more so I wasn't being such an outcast anymore. And now, seeing you is an added bonus."

"I don't believe this shit." Pam scoffed, overhearing Louie as she passed by our end of the bar and rolled her eyes rapidly in disgust, but we both ignored her as I got back up on the stool and Louie sat next to me with his elbows on the counter and his head tilted in my direction.

"She seems quite...personable." Louie said, his voice cracking with held back laughter as he stared after Pam with his eyebrows raised. "Eric's progeny I suspect."

"Oh you nailed that one right." I giggled, seeing exactly how he could spot that right off the bat. Eric and Pam shared some many similar traits which wasn't surprising since they ad so many years together so some things were bound to rub off on her. "She's a tough one to handle,but she's loyal when it comes down to the wire."

"Yea, ok." Louie responded with a doubtful smile before his eyes shot back over his shoulder in the direction of the stage. "So, he's looking kind of angry tonight. Does he..."

"Yes , he's here for the night." I cut in, sending Louie a desperate look to stop him from saying what I knew he was going to say. Godric could hear probably everything that was being said and I couldn't have Louie bring up last night or else there would be hell breaking loose. Luckily Louie seemed to get it and he nodded and went quiet. I was going to speak up and say something but It saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Louie's hand was moving towards mine, one finger standing out for the rest and I knew what he was trying to do. He knew he couldn't say what he wanted too out loud for fear of being over heard. So he was trying to communicate with me in the only way that would be private. I kept my expression neutral and touched my finger to his outstretched one, feeling that opening widen between our minds once our skin touched.

_"I take it Godric doesn't know that I showed you that memory last night does he?"_

I looked at Louie's face and very simply shook my head, so minimally that no one else would have picked it up but he was a vampire and he saw it so he nodded.

_"Ok, that's good to know. Now I won't bring up anything that he might over hear and could possibly set him off. I will try and keep my mouth shut."_

I nodded quickly, showing that was a very good idea. Godric may not know that I knew about his past now, but he did get weird about any time Louie was brought into a conversation. And now that they were both in the same bar as each other, there was no telling what little thing could ignite the spark of animosity. Godric could simply use Louie's presence as an excuse to get mad. So it was best not to add more fuel to the fire.

_"Are you ok? You look kind of off in your own world. Are you still thinking about what you saw?"_

"I'll be fine." I told him, pulling my fingers away from his and leaning forward with my arms folded on the counter top and took my glass of wine in one hand. "How about we get you a drink?"

"Are you offering?" He asked jokingly, raising his eyebrow at me so comically that I knew he was anything but serious. "Because I don't think the viking would appreciate that."

"You are feisty tonight. Who in the hell are you?" I laughed, waving to get Pam's attention so she could get Louie some blood before I looked back at him. "You are in a good mood, aren't you?"

"Let's just say its a first time I've been like this in many years."

* * *

><p><em><span>25 minutes later<span>_

"You look threatened."

"I do not."

"Yes you do. Ever since that Louie character stepped into the bar, you look like you were prepared to fight and he hasn't even done anything."

"I'm not threatened by Louie. And if anyone should be concerned about his presence, it should be you. Are you not jealous that she is sitting with a handsome vampire that's twice your age?"

"I was jealous before, but I know Allison. And its not in her to go and cheat on me. If anything, it would be me who did that first. So if I'm not worried about him then you shouldn't be either."

"For the last time, I am not threatened." Godric found himself saying furiously to his child as he stared across the floor to the bar area where Allison was still sitting with Louie and he felt his eyes narrow and well as his fists tightened. He hated that Louie had just walked in here. Louie never went any place where other vampires inhabited. It just wasn't his style, Godric knew that even if they hadn't been close in a thousand years. But now he just suddenly walks into the same bar Godric's progeny owned? That wasn't cool. "I'm annoyed."

"But why?" Eric questioned, his eyes also following over to the bat and although there was a flash of jealousy it did not flare up as dangerously as it would have in the past. "What is it about him that gets you like this?"

"He's just...frustrating that's all." Godric had to mentally yell at himself to relax his body to try and let go of his annoyance or else he knew it was going to end up very badly. "He and I just, don't get along anymore."

"Did you ever?" Eric wanted to know, raising both his eyebrows. "I mean, we've been together a thousand years. You turned me right around the time when you said the two of you went your separate ways. And yet, you never really mentioned him."

"There's no reason to, we are no longer friends." Godric studied the two figures at the bar, watching how Allison easily interacted with Louie in a way he wished he could. But there was such a wide scale of distance between them, and it was going to be harder to get by even if they did want to. And Godric wasn't sure he ever wanted to. "I just don't like that..."

Godric would have continued speaking had it not been the sight that he saw taking place in front of his eyes. It wasn't a fight or the sound of an argument that stole his attention back to the bar. It was seeing Allison looking right at Louie with all the trust and compassion in her face that would have been reserved for him. She was looking at Louie as if she had known him her whole life instead of simply for a few months. And that made Godric see red. He didn't remember when he had ever been this enraged but he didn't take time to analyze it and just jumped off the stage and flashed towards the bar. He barely reached them before he whipped his hands out and yanked Louie off the bar stool and to his feet before either of them could blink.

"Godric what the hell is your problem?" Louie snapped, pushing his hands away and looking just as furious as Godric was sure he looked. Louie was normally so calm and peaceful looking but now he looked unhinged and ready to lash out if need be. "You've ignored me since I got here and now you suddenly just show up and pull me away. What the fuck?"

"I told you to stay away from her." Godric hissed, eying Allison who had gotten off her stool in confusion and stood off to the side watching them with a frown. He wanted to yell at her but he had more pressing matters that needed his attention. "Why can't you ever listen?"

"Because you're not my maker, you have no power over me. I do not ever have to do what you say." Louie shot back, his blue green eyes turning to slits. "So don't come over here and act like you are my superior. I have done nothing wrong to deserve being ambushed like this."

"Actually you did, when you decided to go against my wishes. You just wanted to piss me off." Godric scoffed, seeing that the humans in the room had turned to watch what was going on at the bar but he barely could even care even as he reached and grabbed Louie's arm. "Get out of here. You don't belong here."

"That's not up for you to decide." Louie said, yanking his arm easily away and stood there with an infuriating triumphant smile. "I will go anywhere I want and if I am wanted somewhere by anyone then I will not leave."

"You little..." Godric went to raise his arm to strike his old friend, but it was an action that never came to be as Eric showed up behind him and grabbed his arm before he could drive it forward. "Eric, do not get …."

"Don't you dare tell me not to get involved. This is my bar and you're about to start a fight." Eric didn't relinquish his hold and eyed Louie with the same amount of disgust, although he was better at hiding his fury at the moment. "You both need to back off."

"I wouldn't have to back off if he didn't start something out of nothing." Louie sized up Eric who towered over him, but only shared half his age. "I'm not looking to start a fight. I was just talking to a …."

"This is your fault isn't it?" Godric whirled around to find Allison looking between them with concern and seeing the look on her face should have made him stop himself from attacking her with his words but it didn't. "You asked him to come here, didn't you? After I specifically told you to not go digging into my past."

"I didn't bring him here, he just showed up on his own." Allison threw back, her young face darkening slightly with a frown as she stepped up between the two of them. "And I didn't go anywhere near your past, I was just talking to him. It's not against the law."

"It is is in my book. Do you always have to be such a brat?" He yelled in her face, his anger practically blowing her hair back in its wake. But it seemed that once those words left his mouth, it extinguished his annoyance towards her. But it was the hurt look on her face that did it even more and seeing it register deep in her eyes made shame sweep through his body as Eric pulled him back. "Allison I'm..."

"How dare you." It was all she said to him as she grabbed her coat and keys and proceeded to walk passed him and Eric towards the door. Eric went to say something to her but she shook her head and he just fell silent. Louie took a second to send a furious glare before he took off after Allison, igniting a whole rage inside of Godric to the point where he wanted to chase after them both. What made Louie think that he was friends wit Allison long enough to comfort her? That was Godric's job not his. But Eric held him back from moving anywhere after them and he knew it was probably for the best. He already made a mess of things and going after Allison right now would just make it worse. Eric released him and stood in front of him with a frown before asking the question that was echoing in his own mind.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"Maybe I should drive." Louie said to me from his spot in the passenger seat of the car a few minutes after I had pulled out of the parking lot of the bar and took off down the long stretch of highway. He hadn't said anything since I realized he had followed after me outside and he didn't say anything even as he climbed into the car after me. He must have sensed how mad I was and thought it was best not to say a word about what had just happened. Instead, he had allowed me to turn on the radio and blast it for those first few minutes as we drove without talking. And then he reached over and turned the volume down before sitting back in the seat with his elbow up on the windowsill and his eyes trailed forward. It was only now when I was driving with my hands clenched tightly on the wheel that he broke the silence and spoke again. "You're mad, I get that. But maybe you should pull over and let me take you home."

"I'm fine. I don't need to pull over." I replied through gritted teeth, the wind from the slightly open window pushing my hair back from my face and cooling off my skin when it had flared up with anger. "Stop looking at me like that. I told you I was fine."

"He didn't mean it you know..." Louie said quietly, his face looking at me with a neutral expression that I caught from the corner of my eye but I kept my eyes on the road. "Godric was mad at me, not you. He just turned that fury on the person least likely to throw it back at him. He was just in...rare form tonight."

"Well that's obvious because he never talks to me like that..." I rolled my eyes at the mere mention of Godric's attitude toward me. I knew he would be upset that Louie was there, but for him to just turn around and speak to me the way he had was just infuriating. And I hated it. " Don't try and soften it up for my benefit. He was an asshole tonight and we both know it."

"That's true, I won't disagree with you at all on that one." Louie almost chuckled, siding with me entirely in that aspect but it was evident that the fight had gone out of him after we had left the bar and he was back to trying to reconcile the situation. "I'm just trying to help you so you don't stay mad at him over nothing."

"This is coming from the guy whose been pissed off at Godric for a thousand years." I raised my eyebrows and dared to turn my head to find Louie with a surprisingly non aggressive look in his eyes. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but Godric hurt my feelings tonight. Don't tell me I can't have just a few hours of sulking to make myself feel better."

"You know what? I think you're mad at the wrong Godric. You're pissed at the vampire from a thousand years ago, not the one whose been your friend this whole time." Louie sighed, his fingers tapping the console between the two seats. "The Godric I knew back then and the Godric you know now are entirely different people. You can't judge them side by side. It wouldn't be fair."

"I guess you're right about that." I grumbled, hating that I was agreeing with him but he did speak the truth in a way. Ever since I had laid eyes on Godric tonight, I had only been able to see the scary vampire he had been from that memory and not the calm and compassionate person he had been to me since I first met him. So Louie was right in that sense but Godric hadn't shown his current self at all tonight. "But he turned into that old Godric and I did not like what I saw."

"Of course you didn't. But I suspect that you're taking it more harshly then you normally would because of what I accidentally showed you last night." Louie hesitantly pointed out, his hands now clasped around one knee he had pulled up to his chest. "That memory wasn't meant for your eyes but you forced yourself into it. And now you're letting it cloud your perception of what happened tonight."

"I am not!" I exclaimed, turning away from the road to shoot him a look but he was staring back at me with pressed lips and a point stare that said he knew he was right even without me saying he was. But I wasn't backing down. "I'm not."

"Yes you are, you just won't admit it because then you would have to own up to how much that memory bothers you. Not to mention that its already changing how you look at him. And you don't want to admit to that either because you made such a stance about it last time." He explained, running his finger through his short blonde hair even though it looked perfect and then he went on. "So you're just going to sulk like a child and hope that if you're left alone long enough then it will pass...Am I close?"

"I hate you. You know that?" I groaned, feeling the resolve go out of my body as he seemed to exactly know what I was feeling even though he did not have a blood bond with me. But I suppose being around as long as he had, he picked up a few things. But it didn't mean I wasn't still annoyed by his spot on observations. "You're beginning to be a real pain in the ass. Stop trying to sound so wise and act your age."

"I'm 2000 years old..." Louie's lips twitched upwards as he spoke, signifying he was close to laughing. "I am acting my age."

"See? Pain in the ass." I snapped, reaching over and pushing his elbow off the console so I could take it. "You know what I meant."

"No, I really don't." Louie broke into a loud laugh right then, the sound becoming infectious in that small space. "Explain it to me."

"Louie!" I screamed in exasperation. "Stop acting like a child."

"Allison!" He shot back in the same tone I used on him. "You stop acting like a child."

I could only laugh in return as his attempt at being lighthearted. I know he meant well, so I wasn't going to be annoyed with how this night had turned out. Godric and I would get over this and things would go back to normal. Or as normal as they could be. But for now, I was just going to enjoy this drive back with Louie. Because I had a feeling that he and I were going to be around each other more often then not.


	21. Piling up

**Chapter 21 Piling up**

"Ok...Where do I go from here?" I asked myself the next morning as I sat at the kitchen table with the back door open and a cool morning breeze was blowing into the house while I looked down at my hands that were clutching two two things. My right hand held my cell phone open, ready to be dialed where as the phone number in question, was on a slip of paper in my other hand. Molly's number.

I had woken up not that long ago with the sudden and random thought that perhaps I should give Molly a call and see what would come of it should I decide to make contact. I hadn't thought about what I wanted to do about our undefined relationship and I hadn't gone to bed last night thinking about it in any capacity. It wasn't until I woke up that I realized I had this idea in mind and when I was getting dressed, it dawned on me why I had suddenly decided to do this. After what happened last night with Godric and Louie at the bar, it had put me in a foul mood long after I had returned home and went to bed. I had fallen asleep with Godric's face in my mind, yelling at me and calling me a brat. I knew he didn't mean it, he had only done it because he had unresolved issues with Louie and must have felt threatened when Louie wormed his way into Godric's life by becoming my friend. And somehow this morning, that tied into my desire to call Molly and at least speak to her. I didn't want to end up like Godric and wind up yelling at Molly whenever we crossed paths just because there was so much time between us and we never got over our problems. Kind of like Godric's situation with Louie. I didn't want to be like that, I didn't want to pretend to be one way, but underneath hide away all the rage and hatred I felt. That wasn't me and I wasn't going to let it be.

Hence why I was sitting here contemplating my next move.

I looked at the number and before I could talk myself out of it, I quickly dialed the number and hit send. As I was hearing the phone ring, I had to put every ounce of strength in me to not hang up or even clam up when she finally answered. I didn't even allow myself to think ahead too much about what I would say, because if I obsessed about it then I would panic and stop this before it could begin. And I didn't want to end up running away from this. It wasn't going to be easy, but maybe it would be more worth while because it was tough for me. I barely had a chance to let that seep in before I heard a voice take place over the ringing.

"Hello?" It was her, Molly. My birth mother was on the other end of the line and I was almost at a standstill as to how to even respond. "Hello? Who is this?"

"It's...it's Allison." I managed to get out, hating that my voice shook and sounded younger then I actually was, but at least I was able to say something. "Um, I just..uh..I was..."

"I'm glad you called." She cut in, probably sensing how nervous I was and was trying to spare me the humiliation of having to listen to myself stutter for far longer then I should have. "I was hoping to hear from you. I just didn't think it would be this soon."

"I didn't either, but I woke up a little while ago and I just felt like I wanted to call you." I was twisting my hair around my fingers, wondering if she was doing the same thing even though she didn't sound nervous at all. "Look um, I know I kind of alluded to you that I didn't want to have anything to do with you but I think that was premature on my part. I don't know what I..."

"I get the sense that this is going to turn into a serious conversation and that kind of thing shouldn't be done over the phone." She told me, having the same reaction that I would have had. It was weird to pick apart the traits that I saw in myself and then heard on someone else. "If you like, why don't we meet up at the cafe in Shreveport sometime today and we can talk over coffee."

"I think that sounds ok enough." I agreed, feeling like I could handle something casual like that. "Is 4:30 ok for you?"

"That's perfect, see you then." And then as quickly as the call began, it ended and I was left with a dial tone in my ear before my hand fell down to the table with my phone still clutched in my fingers.

I was actually going to do this. I was going to meet my birth mother later today and God only knows what would happen. I mean, the last time I saw her, I was pumped full of all kinds of crazy information. And it was so much to take in that I couldn't imagine hearing anything more. But it was very possible that there was more to know. And I just set myself up for a more then likely disaster. Who knew what I was going to find out next. But I couldn't back out and act like a child. I had done that more then perfectly when I met her and I did not want a repeat performance. So I set my phone down and rubbed a hand down my face and groaned.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Late that afternoon<span>_

"Once again, what have I gotten myself into?" I asked myself quietly as I passed through the shiny glass door of the cafe in downtown Shreveport and entered the main room of cleared tabletops and almost completely empty booths and paused to gather myself before I looked around in earnest.

When I had hung up that phone this morning, I expected time to drag by slowly. I expected it to be agonizing and drawn out to make this moment more awkward then it had to be. I thought that no matter what I did today, time was just going to be going at a snail's pace. But I was very very wrong. Time flew by much quicker then I was ready for and before I knew it, I was scribbling a note to Eric about where I would be if I wasn't home by the time he woke up, and I was out the door and into the car. I was surprised I was able to drive the short distance into without pulling over and having a panic attack, but I did it as if I was merely going to meet my cousin for coffee instead of the woman who had turned my world upside down. I had pulled into the parking lot and then as soon as the car was off, I had sat there for a few minutes, not even with any thought going through my head. And then like a robot, I had gotten out and made my way inside without even consciously thinking about it.

And now here I was, my arms wrapped around my self as I stood in a cafe with late afternoon sun rays streaming through the windows as my eyes were drawn to a booth in the back where all I could see was a brunette head. But I knew it was her. Somehow, every fiber in my body knew it was her and that's what gave me the strength to move my feet in that direction. As I neared the booth, my heart began pounding so fast and loud that I was sure it would give away my presence before my footsteps did. But she didn't even notice I had appeared until I slid onto the cushioned bench across from her, and when she looked up, I was startled by just how much our eyes resembled each other.

"Allison! I was wondering just now if you were actually going to show up." Molly said,her eyebrows raising up slightly in nervousness as I shrugged out of my jacket and set it off to the side of me as she poured me a cup of coffee from the pot on the table and slid it over to me. I smiled gratefully at her, taking the mug just as she started talking. "I was getting nervous about whether this was a good idea and I even considered getting up and leaving. But I didn't want you to show up and not have me here. So I stayed."

"I didn't get nervous until I walked through the door." I admitted, stirring in some creamer and a few packets of sugar into my cup and stirring it before I looked up at her expectant face and sighed. "Look, before we start trying to get to know each other. I really ought to apologize for how I spoke to you the other night."

"Allison, it's really not necessary..." She began to say but I had to cut her off because if I didn't say this then I would feel too bad to sit here and continue.

"No really, I have to apologize. I was so incredibly rude to you near the end of the night and it makes me ashamed to think of what I said." I shook my head as my words came back to me and I almost cringed as I practically saw it playing out before me again. That wasn't me. I wasn't that rude girl and I didn't want her to think I was. Now that I had a moment to breathe, I could center my thoughts and think like I normally could. "I just get like that sometimes when I'm taken by surprise and I don't always have the best manners. So don't take it personally."

"Trust me, I am the same way so it is alright." She said, smiling probably a little too brightly to overcompensate for the awkwardness but I was happy for her efforts. She was clearly trying to make this easier on us both. "Besides, it's partially my fault for overwhelming you with so much information. I should have spread it out more."

"Still, I want to say I'm sorry. I was just thinking about what my Gran would say if she had been here to see me act like that and she would have been so disappointed and ashamed of my rudeness. She raised me better then that." I felt my shoulders sink in guilt at the thought of my kind grandmother and what she would have said about my behavior. She would have told me that even when dealing with strangers, I should have acted with grace and decorum. And I certainly hadn't done that. "Just accept my apology, please."

"It's all in the past." She waved her hand in the air before wrapping her fingers around her coffee mug and saying. "Let's just focus on the present and the future and what we expect to get out of this meeting."

"Well, I guess I was curious to see what you thought would come of this." I stated after taking a sip of coffee and twirled my hair with my free hand. "Where would we go from here and is it even possible to do now that so much time has passed."

"If we're being honest then I will say directly what is on my mind. In my perfect world, we would become the best of friends before moving into the realm where we had no problem calling each other mother and daughter. But those are precious words and I know neither of us are comfortable using them just yet. So I'm not naïve. I know it may never get to that point, but that's what I hope." She wasn't lying when she said honestly whatever was on her mind. It did sound exactly what a mother would say to her long lost daughter. But she was right that it didn't feel comfortable just yet and it was going to take time before we would get to that point. "But in reality, we need to just take it day by day and see what happens. We can't rush it or it won't be right. If we're meant to have a relationship then it will happen naturally."

"Maybe you're right, maybe we should take it slow and just take whatever comes." I smiled at this idea because it was exactly up my alley. I didn't always take too well to strangers in certain situations and with the way she and I met, it was very overwhelming. So to be able to slow it down and go at the opposite pace was better for the both of us. "Ok, we're still going to want to learn about each other and you told me a lot about you that first night. So I guess its only fair if you ask me about whatever you want."

"There is one thing I've been wondering about and even just as your birth mother, I still have the right to be concerned." Molly began with a tightly lipped frown, her expression suggesting that this topic was going to be tense. "Are you involved with Eric? Like romantically?"

"Yes." I barely was able to answer before I was almost overcome with giggles. She may have been a stranger to me, but hearing her ask about my love life in a very maternal way made me feel like I was a teenager instead of almost 24 years old. "He and I have been together for a while now and we live together..."

"But he's a vampire." She pointed out like that wasn't obvious. "A very old vampire.."

"Yeah, he's a thousand years old." I smiled as her face twisted into pure surprise. "But trust me, he doesn't act his age at all most of the time."

"Does he treat you well?" She wanted to know, her eyes guarded like she was expecting me to admit that Eric beat me on a regular basis. "I only ask because most vampire/human relationships don't go well. And with my history with your father, I got concerned when I saw the way you and Eric interacted and I just wanted to know the story about you guys."

"I won't lie. Eric's not perfect in any sense of the word. He's egotistical and snobby, self centered and selfish, mean and manipulative at times. And mostly, he is completely inappropriate when it comes to relationships. And if I think about it, he has more bad moments then good moments." I was being truthful. Eric did have faults. Many of them and they did not go unnoticed by me or anyone around us. Eric never tried to hide his true self from me and I actually appreciated that. He shouldn't have to hide who he was. I loved that he was so true to who he was. "But when he does have a good moment, even when it is very rare, that moment is usually so sweet and nice that it cancels out his bad times completely. I love him and I know he loves me. I wouldn't be with him if I wasn't certain about us."

"You are a lot more mature then I was at your age, that's for sure." Molly chuckled, looking relieved if not entirely convinced of my statement before she met my eyes again. "But thank you for being honest with me. So now I suppose it's my turn to be honest with you."

"Only if you want to be."

"I...uh... I have a daughter. I mean, I have another daughter besides you." She said quickly, her eyes darting away quickly just as I felt that oh so familiar rush of shock hit me right in the chest. Another daughter? I had a sibling for god only knows how long and I had no idea. It was not what I was expecting to hear come out of her mouth when we shared things about ourselves. And this was not a little thing. " She's 3 years old, her name is Susan."

"You...you have another daughter? I have a sister?" I felt my mouth drop open wide at this confirmation from her but I wasn't as mad about it as I thought I was going to be. In fact, I was kind of elated. I had a sister, an actual sibling just Sookie and Jason had each other. I looked at Molly with a smile and said. "Holy crap that's wild. But kind of awesome."

"Do you want to see a picture?" She asked, her face registering surprise at my reaction but she was obviously pleased because when I nodded to see the picture, she went shuffling through her purse for her wallet, pulling out a small square and handed it to me. "There she is."

"Oh my god..." I felt my lips twitching uncontrollably into a smile as I looked down on the first image I had of my little half sister. She was this tiny little blonde girl walking down a graveled path with a basket in her hand and her hair braided on either side of her head. She was wearing this little white dress that made her look more like an angel child then human. She was beautiful and sweet and it was hard to believe that we were even related. I looked up at molly and said the first thing that came to my mind. "She's so blonde."

"Oh god, yes she is. She gets that from her father." Molly started laughing too, taking the picture back to look at it with an affectionate smile. "But she has my eyes, our eyes. That's something."

"Does she know about me?" I asked as the thought hit me right at that second and I just had to know. My hands clutched my coffee cup as I asked. "Does she know she has a sister?"

"No, I haven't told her yet." Molly shook her head, tucking the picture back into her wallet before folding her hands on the table top. "I never thought I would see you again and I didn't want to get Susan's hopes up for a big sister that she may never meet."

"I guess I understand that." I wasn't offended about this in the slightest. I could see where she was coming from. She didn't know if the resurrection would have worked and after meeting for the first time, she was probably thinking that we may never lay eyes on each other again. So she didn't want to disappoint her very young daughter, I got that. "But if its ok with you, one day I would like to meet her."

"Really? Then we could definitely make that happen." She exclaimed, obviously pleased beyond words that I wanted to see my little sister and for a second, I thought she was going to cry. But she got a hold of herself and reached for her wallet again. "I want to show you another picture I carry around. It's a picture that's almost 24 years old."

This time, it was almost me who cried because when she handed me another photograph, I knew immediately what I was going to be looking at. The picture was yellowing and fraying at the edges but the image was still clear, as was the faces of three adult people in it. It was taken inside a hospital room and I saw the happy expressions on the faces of my parents as they sat together on the bed next to a much younger Molly, who in turn was holding a small bundle in her arms, that was me. I almost felt the breath leave my lungs as I looked down at this picture taken at the time of my birth. It was so surreal looking into the past like this, it was my past. It was my first moment with the three people who meant the most to me at the time. I was just a newborn, surrounded by more love then most kids had born to young mothers. It had me fighting back tears as I realized this was probably the only picture in existence of the 4 of us together and I looked up at Molly with a hesitant smile.

"This is...so beautiful." I had to hand the photo back to her before I did start crying. But as she was putting it away, I had to ask her something very important. "Do you think you could make me a copy of that? I would really like it if you could..."

"Yes of course. I would be happy to do that." Molly agreed, her face lighting up like she had just won the lottery and she leaned forward to say. "I guess this means we'll be seeing each other again."

"Yea, I think it does." I nodded, smiling again which I never thought I would be doing at all when I had decided to come here. "You know what? I'm glad I called you this morning."

"I'm glad too."

* * *

><p><em><span>90 minutes later<span>_

"So you finally came home..." Eric's voice was the first to speak up when I entered the kitchen later that night way after the sun had set and found both him and Godric sitting at the table waiting for me. Eric's eyes found my face and I saw his lip twitch up into a smile. "And judging by the fact that you're not crying or screaming, I take it that things went ok."

"I would say more then ok. I think it went well actually." I said with a bright smile, not even bothered that I was in a kitchen with a vampire whop had verbally attacked me just the night before. For some reason, that didn't matter to me anymore. I didn't care because after meeting with Molly, there were more important things on my mind. I tossed my bag on the counter and walked over to the refrigerator to get a drink while I said. "I found out something pretty interesting."

"More interesting then what you already found out?" Eric asked, raising his eyebrow at me as I hopped up on a stool across from the table. "Do tell."

"I have a half sister. She's 3 years old and her name's Susan." I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I still couldn't believe that I actually had a sibling. I mean, I had always had family around me, but I always remembered being jealous of Sookie and Jason. They may fight a lot but they loved each other. And I knew they thought of me as their sibling too, but it wasn't the same. But now that I actually did have a little sister, I didn't quite feel as out of place as I use to in my former life. "Can you believe that? I have a little sister. It's crazy!"

"It's nice too. You have more family then you originally did." Godric spoke up hesitantly as if he wasn't sure he was allowed to speak in my presence, his face frozen in a guarded expression. "It's good that you have a younger sister, young children are fun."

"Why would you say that?" I instantly demanded, growing wild with panic at the mere mention of Godric talking about children. And so soon after telling them about my sister. What if Godric was thinking about reverting to his old ways? What if he wanted to go after Susan because he was feeling a familiar itch to relive his past? I shot a look at him, watching him intently. "Why would you say children are fun?"

"Uh, because I like children and you seem like the type to like them too. So it shouldn't be hard for you to accept this child into your life." He explained with a deep set frown and even without touching him, I could take a pretty good guess at what he was thinking. I knew my reaction was out of left field and suspicious and he was probably assuming the worse. "Why did you ask me in that tone? What's going on?"

"Oh, uh just because I've never heard a vampire say they like children before and I was just surprised that's all." I was pulling this lie out of my ass so fast that it almost left me dizzy. I should have just come clean and admitted to what I had seen by accident. But instead I was lying to my best friend and the man I loved and letting everything pile up even more. But I couldn't just say it. It was too hard. "Honestly, I was just surprised."

"That seems to be your reasoning for everything these days." Godric pointed out, staring at me like he didn't quite believe what I was saying. He and I didn't have the same kind of blood bond as before so he couldn't always tell when I was lying. But he knew me well enough to be suspicious. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Not as ok as I would like to be, but I'm getting there." I had to say something that was believable that would have a logical reason why I was not acting like myself. "I'm just trying to process everything that has happened lately and it kind of has me on edge."

"Oh, yes I can imagine it does." Godric looked immediately guilty and I knew he was thinking I was referring to what had happened last night and he turned his face up to mine apologetically. "I have to say how sorry I am for losing it last night. That was not really me and I ..."

"Godric's ok, really. No one has been acting like themselves in the past couple of weeks so it's fine. I won't hold a grudge." I told him, trying my best to sound sincere. I wasn't mad about how he talked to me since there were other things about him that held my attention. I just had to pretend like it was all ok. I looked at him with a smile and said. "Trust me, after being with Eric for so long, I'm use to being verbally attacked."

"Hey!" Eric exclaimed, looking offended for a second but I could see the underling smirk on his face so I knew he wasn't being serious, even though he went along with the joke. "That's insulting."

"No it's just the truth." I shot back, falling into a fit of laughter as we all did at Eric's mock expression. It almost felt like old times back when I hadn't known the truth about anything. It was simpler back then. I looked at Eric's face, laughing and unaware of what I knew. And then to Godric, who was also chuckling but now when I looked at him, I didn't see the innocent, young looking vampire I use to see. I use to look in his eyes and see nothing but the picture of pure innocence. And now, I saw in the depth the flicker of a vampire he use to be. A more monstrous version of himself.

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

_Young children are fun...I like them..._

What the hell was going through Godric's mind when he said this?

I was sitting on my bed later that night after I had gotten out of the shower and was combing out my hair while I thought over the conversation I had with Godric earlier that night. I still felt the slight flutter of my heart when I heard his comment about children. I knew he probably didn't mean it the way I took it, but I couldn't help but automatically assume the worse. I knew that was a natural reaction after the memory I had seen, but I hated that it popped up so fiercely at any mention of young kids. And after finding out I had a little sister, hearing him talking about kids threw me even more for a loop. I didn't even know this little girl and I hadn't met her yet. But I knew about and therefore I already started to care and it terrified me to think that she was at the age that some of those kids were when Godric had hunted them down...

"Ok where is your mind at right now?" Eric's voice came clear across the room in the direction of the bathroom and I saw him stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist before moving toward me with his arms crossed over his bare chest. "I've been trying to talk to you for the past 2 minutes and you just haven't responded at all."

"I'm sorry, I was just lost in thoughts for a while." I told him, tossing the comb on a nearby table and turned to watch as he walked over to the dresser with that same frown on his face. "I was thinking about Godric and..."

"Ok, seriously. What is going on with you and him?" Eric interrupted, his eyebrows drawn low as he turned around and leaned against the dresser. "Lately it seems like one of you is always acting weird around the other. And last night he nearly starts a fight in my bar and that is not like him. So once again I have to ask. What is going on?"

"Eric, it's nothing..."

"Don't tell me it's nothing because I know it is something. I'm not completely stupid." Eric snapped, standing up straight and flashing over to stand in front of me. "I've noticed how you jump when he's around. I hear the nervousness in your voice every time he speaks. I say the look on your face earlier today. And in the last week, your blood races whenever he walks into a room. It's almost like you're scared of him."

"I'm not scared of him, I'm scared of what I don't know." I had to give Eric something to appease his suspicions because he was nothing if not stubborn. He would keep picking at it until he unraveled the truth and I didn't want him to know. He might get angry at me knowing since it was done behind his maker's back. So I had to tell only a half lie. "When I was hanging out with Louie, he kind of let it slip that Godric had some kind of dark side back when they were friends. And I was wondering what it could possibly be. He said I could see into his mind if I wanted to know,but I turned it down. And now I can't help but wonder how someone like Godric could be bad. It's just not possible."

"Actually it is possible. Vampires who have lived as long as Godric aren't going to remain the same way they started off. So there's a good chance he was dark for a while and I was cruel and mean, I had to learn it from someone." He shrugged, moving off to the side and sitting beside me, his form still towering over me. "I know what my time with him was like, but if you're wondering about the time before that, then you have to ask him. I can't help you with that."

"That's true." I nodded, playing along with it but even I knew I couldn't entirely keep it up. There was only so long I could lie before I started repeating the same thing over and over again. "You know what? Maybe it's better if I don't know."

"Excuse me? Are you serious?" Eric raised an eyebrow at me, the confusion littering his features. "Just a second ago you were wondering about Godric's past and now you don't want to know anything. What's that about?"

"Maybe there are some things about Godric that I just shouldn't know." I reached out and wrapped my hands around Eric's arm, leaning my cheek against his shoulder as I stared at the carpet. It was too late to back out of seeing Godric's past, but I knew after seeing that memory that I didn't want to see any more. "Maybe the past is better left in the past. Some things don't need to be pulled into the present."

**A/N: Just wanted to add a little note for this particular day. We all know what it means and we all remember the tragedy from that day. But we are still standing strong 10 years later. And we are as united as we ever have been. So take a moment and remember the lives lost on 9/11 and hope that they have peace while we struggle to move on in this sometimes cruel world. God bless america!**


	22. Leading to nowhere

**Chapter 22 Leading to nowhere**

_"Godric? Godric, what are you doing?" I found myself calling out into the night air as I followed my best friend as fast as I could but even without him going at vampire speed, he was still faster then me and I had to almost jog to keep up. "Why are we out here?"_

_"I came out to feed and you followed me because you wanted to. But I think perhaps you should go back, I don't want you to see this." Godric told me, his calm face remaining as stoic as it always did. He turned around to face me, a gentle smile on his face as he nodded off into the distance. "Go, you shouldn't be here."_

_"Godric, it's not that big a deal. I've seen other vampires feed on people and it's normal. I just came along so you maintain control. It's been a while since you actually fed on human." I pointed out in reminder. It was true, ever since the synthetic blood was created Godric had not fed on a human in years. And this was the first time and who knew how he would react, it might overwhelm him. So I came along in case I needed to step in. But Godric was just feeding on adults so I don't know why he didn't want me to see that. Unless it wasn't grown humans he was after. "Godric, you are only hunting adults aren't you?"_

_"Go home Allison, you should be with Eric. I will come back when I have done what needs to be done." Godric practically ordered me as his eyes were caught on something down the road in the yard of a small house. "Allison, go now."_

_And then he shot down the road in a flash, leaving a trail of dust in his wake for me to follow. It took me a while but when I got there, Godric had already pounced and I could hear the frenzied sounds of his feeding. I would have turned away from this sight had it not been for one little thing. When the dust began to settle down and I could see a little more clearly, I saw a hand fall down to the ground. A tiny hand, a child's hand. Godric was feeding on a child. I felt my stomach drop all the way to the grass and keep on going for far beyond that._

_"Godric stop it! You can't do that, it's just a kid." I screamed at him, throwing up my hands expecting my white light to shoot out and hit him off the young child. But nothing happened. I shook my hands and concentrated and still nothing. I began to panic. For some reason my powers were not working tonight. So how was I suppose to save this kid? I went on instinct and darted over to Godric, even though I knew it was futile, I grabbed his shoulders. "Godric stop it. This isn't you. This is the old you. Please don't kill this little girl."_

_"Get off me." Godric growled, reaching up with one hand and easily tossing me off to the side on the grass before he turned his face back down to the little girl. "I know its wrong, but I just can't help myself. A child's blood is too delicious to pass up."_

_I watched him smile maniacally, lifting his head to air as if to sniff the scent of blood that was filling the space around us. His fangs had retracted briefly but the moment his eyes were on the little girl, they came shooting out again. And it was only a second later when his mouth was diving at her neck again._

_"Nooooooo..."_

"Allie? Allie wake up! You're having a nightmare." Eric's voice was yelling at me from very far away and I could feel a pair of hands grasping my shoulders, shaking me to try and snap me out of it and eventually I was pulled out of the realm of sleep and back into the present, my eyes snapping open wildly. Eric was hovering over me, his face holding so much concern that I was surprise it hadn't spilled over yet. "Are you ok?"

I couldn't even answer him, I was in too much of a state of shock to say anything. I just laid there, my hands frozen into fists like they had been in my dream when I was trying to fight off Godric. My heart was pounding so rapidly I was convinced it wasn't going to be long before it found its way out of my chest. I could see my quickened breath was blowing back the hair on Eric's forehead and his hands were wrapped tightly around my arms, his fingers digging into my skin.

"Can you answer me please so I don't lose my fucking mind?" He demanded, releasing me and dropping back down to the bed as I sat up with my hands going to my chest and he grabbed my chin to make me look at him. "What did you have a nightmare about? It had to be bad because you woke up screaming."

"Um...it was..." I stumbled over my words at first, not having any barrier between my mind and my mouth. But as I began to shake the cobwebs of sleep from my body and my heart beat began to return to normal and I really began to focus, I instantly realized I couldn't tell him the truth. If I said I had dreamt about Godric hunting down children, he would wonder where I had gotten that idea in the first place and then I would have to come clean about the memory. And I wasn't ready to do that. So I said the only logical thing that I could have happened to me recently to warrant me waking up screaming. "I uh...i was dreaming that I was asleep and I woke up...and I was back in my coffin."

"Oh god, no wonder you were fighting so hard in your sleep." Eric must have believed it because his face flooded with understanding and he pulled me into his arms against his bare chest and stroked my head in an attempt to comfort me. "I was just about to get up and go down to the basement since the sun was rising. But then you start thrashing around like a crazy person."

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting to dream about that. It hasn't happened since I was resurrected. It just threw me that's all." I sighed, surprised at myself that I was able to pull this lie off so soon after having a nightmare about Godric. I pulled away from Eric and ran my hands through my hair and looked at the clock only to see it was after 7 in the morning. "You know what? I don't think I'm going to go back to sleep. I think I'm just going to try and stay busy to pass the time today and maybe later go to see Sookie."

"I can stay with you if you want to go back to sleep." Eric told me, his fingers tucking back my hair behind my shoulder. "I can stay awake a little longer if..."

"It's morning Eric, you should go down to the basement and rest before you get the bleeds. I'll be fine." I smiled at him, patting his hand before sliding off the bed and heading over to the dresser to grab some clothes to throw on after my shower. I looked back over to the bed to find it empty. I shot my eyes to the doorway to find it filled with Eric's tall form and a curious looking expression coming my way. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're being honest right? About the nightmare?" Eric looked me straight in the eye as he asked this and it took everything in me to remain calm and not panic. If he felt even the slightest jump of my heart then he would know I was lying. I watched him eye me intently before saying. "Because I just get this feeling that something's off about this whole thing."

"Of course I'm telling you the truth, I wouldn't make that up." Oh I wish he was asleep so I could let down my walls and feel the guilt that I knew was brewing. I hated lying to anyone, but especially to Eric. After everything we had been through recently, I hated doing this. But for the moment, I had to keep it to myself. "Why would you question what I tell you?"

"I don't know." Eric shrugged, his hands going to his hips where he was only wearing a pair of black boxers to cover his bottom half before he sighed. "Lately, things have been weird with everyone and I can't always tell anymore what's the truth or a lie."

"Well, I'm not lying. That's one thing you can be assured of."

* * *

><p><em><span>Late that afternoon<span>_

"Allie? Are you in there? Are you listening to me at all?"

"Oh my god, I am so sorry." I exclaimed, snapping out my haze of thoughts and turned to see my cousin staring right at me through the late afternoon sun and I smiled apologetically. "I don't even know where my head has been at lately."

"Well, it certainly hasn't been here with me. I can tell you that much." Sookie said jokingly, but I could see in her face that she was on the road to being extremely frustrated with me and I couldn't exactly blame her.

I had called her up with the intention of us hanging out for the day until our vampires rose from their rest and when I set out for Bon Temps, I thought it was going to be a great afternoon. It was the first time I was going to be back in my old hometown since my resurrection and I was going to be spending quality time with my cousin. It should have been the best day I had in a long time but it wasn't. Since I got here I had been distracted and inattentive and it was beginning to get on my nerves as well as hers. She tried talking to me and I wouldn't respond as quickly as I use to. She brought up the topic of her and Bill thinking about building a house on our old property because it didn't seem right to leave it empty and I barely had a reaction at all. It was only when we were sitting on the front porch of Bill's house that she asked me point blank what was bothering me.

"Nothing is bothering me, I just can't seem to focus that's all." I pulled every ounce strength in to my head so I could at least try to have some resemblance of a conversation with her. "It's nothing, trust me."

"Are you sure? Because you're never like this ever and it kind of has me concerned." Sookie stated, twirling her hair around her finger as we swung on the porch swing gently. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're not anal about being perfect. But these days you are nervous and jumpy and you never pay attention and that's just not you."

"Nothing is wrong." I lied so much these days that it was starting to become natural for me. I really didn't like that, that was not me at all. I had never been that way in my entire life and I didn't want to prolong it. But I couldn't incriminate anyone else in what I knew so I had to drive away the truth. "I'm just tired and stressed out."

Sookie just looked at me intensely for a minute without saying a word. She was studying me, I could tell by the look on her face. I kept my mental blocks up to keep her from reading my mind but she still seemed to have figured out something because her face twisted into a frown. And before I could speak and asked what she was thinking, she beat me to it.

"No, that's not it. You're lying." She said without hesitation, sitting back with her arms wrapped around herself and her head shaking. "You know how I know? Your face just shifted very slightly like it always does when you're not telling the whole truth. Eric or Godric may not have noticed because they haven't know you your whole life, but I have. And I think you're lying."

"Oh my god, this is too much." I threw my hands up in the air in frustration, pissed and beyond annoyed that she knew me so well that she could tell when I was lying even when I thought I was good at hiding it. "For Christ sakes, why does everyone think I'm lying today?"

"Uh, why...are you taking this so personally? I was only making an observation." Sookie looked taken aback by my outburst and she sat up with her arm on the back of the swing and leaned in close to me. "Who else said you were lying?"

"Only that damn viking I live with." I mentally had to reign myself in before I made myself look even more suspicious then I already did. I looked at Sookie and sighed, here came more lies. "I had a nightmare this morning about being back in my coffin and Eric thought I was lying about it."

"Well that was odd for him to even think. But..." Sookie's voice trailed off like she was hesitant to go on with what she had to say. It was only when I sent a look at her that she continued with her hands twisting nervously in her lap. "Don't take this personally, but were you lying?"

"Only you would ask that." I shook my head with a sigh. If there was any one I could have talked to about this it should have been her. She had been my best friend my whole life. There was nothing I had ever really kept from her. But this memory of Godric was not something I could easily let go of to another person. If he could out I knew then there could be trouble. And no one else was going to get yelled at for my mistake. I looked at my cousin and shrugged. "Let's change the subject before I get annoyed."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nightfall back in Shreveport<span>_

"So I think we need to have a talk." Eric found himself saying to his maker as the two of them gathered inside the living room later that night when they had both risen from their sleep. They were alone in the house, Allison still out with her cousin which gave Eric the chance to speak to his maker in private without having her around to over hear. An important thing to have since what he had to talk about involved her directly. "It's about Allison."

"Isn't it always?" Godric asked, a slight smile on his face as he was trying to make light of the tension that seemed to be settling in heavier on them lately. But when Eric could not return the smile, Godric became serious. "What's wrong my child?"

"That's the problem, I don't exactly know what it is. But I know there is a problem somewhere. She's not acting like herself." Eric frowned, thinking of all the little things that had been setting him off lately about her. The way she was always close to jumping out of her own skin, how her voice changed whenever someone suddenly spoke to her, the panicked expression she wore when she saw his maker. Not to mention that when she wasn't blocking their blood bond, he could feel the nervous pace of her heart and that's what set off his suspicions mostly. He looked at Godric sitting on the sofa across from him and asked. "Haven't you noticed her odd behavior lately?"

"Of course I have. We're vampires, we notice everything." Godric said with a cock of his eyebrow, his calm face staring into the empty fireplace like there was something there instead of just air. "But she and I haven't exactly been as close as we previously have been. She hasn't really talked to me so I'm in the dark about what could be bothering her."

"I am too and I absolutely hate that! I'm Eric fucking Northman. I'm suppose to know everything." Eric growled, annoyed with himself that he hadn't figured it out yet. It didn't normally take him this long to solve a mystery but this time with Allison was different from all the rest. This time she was fighting tooth and nail to keep it from everyone, including him. And he really didn't like that. Even when they were angry with each other, they were still honest. So if she wasn't telling him what was up, then it had to be something to piss him off. Why else would she keep it to herself. "She says nothing is wrong, but I have a feeling that she is lying and she's been lying for a while now."

"I've been thinking that too but I didn't want to voice it because I was worried it might upset her." Godric turned his head away from the fire place and looked at him with a gentle look. "She is so fragile these days that anything could elicit a flood of tears from her. And I don't want her to cry anymore. She's been through enough..."

"I'm not arguing with you there, but if it takes a few tears to get to the bottom of this, then that is what we have to do." Eric just shrugged his shoulders, not seeing any other way around it. Something was clearly eating away at Allison and he would go to any lengths to find out what. Even if it meant moving her to tears. "She claims everything is fine. But we both know she's lying."

"I wonder what about." Godric pondered, his face coming alive for a moment as their eyes met. "What is she keeping a secret?"

"You tell me...she seems to be acting weird mostly around you." Eric didn't know where he got the balls to say that to his maker, but a flame of suspicion had been flickering in the back of his mind and he had to fan that fire or else it would get bigger on its own. At least if he asked and it was nothing, then he could put it to rest. He narrowed his eyes and asked. " Is there something going on with you two that I don't know about?"

"Excuse me? Are you serious?" Godric's face darkened in a way that Eric had not seen in quite a while but he couldn't find it in himself to feel bad for questioning his maker's role in all this. Godric however looked incredibly insulted. "What are you suggesting? That she and I are having an affair? Do you really think so low of me?"

"I'm not entirely sure what I think. All I know is that her behavior gets erratic around you and that's why I think it involves you somehow." Eric frowned, seeing that he had severely offended his maker, something he had not wanted to happen. "Look, I don't really believe that, but I also don't know what to believe."

"Then perhaps you should think a little more before you speak." Godric said, his voice as calm as it ever was as he got to his feet and began to walk out of the room. But before he left, he looked over his shoulder and said. "And don't ever believe I would do something like take away the woman you love. That's just too ridiculous to suggest, even for you."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"Would you look at this, a faerie at my front door. I must have been a good vampire this century." Louie's joking voice filled my ears before I even had a chance to knock at the door. He appeared in front of me, his face calm and full of a lightness that I hadn't seen when I first met him. However, when he really took a chance to look at me, he quickly turned serious and came out on the porch with a frown. "Ok, you look way too tense and nervous for my liking. What the hell is going on?"

"I'm like ready to lose my fucking mind." I blurted not, not taking a moment to care about manners and just said what was in my head with no filter to my mouth. I allowed Louie to take me by the arm and direct me towards a bench against the side of the house. I sat down with a heavy sigh, knowing I had come to the right place to blow off some steam. After leaving Sookie and Bill's house, I was on my way home when I started feeling that same rise of panic come up in my chest at the thought of possibly facing Godric tonight. He had been there a lot lately and every time it made me more antsy and on edge because I was tip toeing around him every single night. It was exhausting and draining and I couldn't talk about it to anyone at home. So that was why I had come here, to talk to the one person who knew what I had seen and what I was going through. Louie sat down beside me and I tightly grabbed his arm. "Take back the fucking memory. Take it back right now."

"Uh, I can't do that. It's not like a piece of clothing you can return if you don't like it. Once its in your mind, it remains there. I'm sorry." He told me, looking guilty probably of having accidentally letting me see that memory. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't forced it on me I had forced myself on him. If anyone should feel guilty, it was me. But Louie still managed to look like he shouldered some of the blame as he pried my fingers off his arm. "If you weren't a faerie then I would glamor it away for you. But for a girl like you, its impossible."

"I'm having god damn nightmares about that memory, ok? I can't sleep, I can barely function normally around him and people are starting to pick up on it. Both Eric and Sookie know or at least suspect that I'm lying when I tell them I'm alright. And I don't know what to do." I gripped my hair tightly, wanting to pull the strands out just so I could vent my frustrations. "I feel like I'm about to shake apart at the seams any second now and I don't know how much longer I can go on pretending like everything is normal."

"I want to be sympathetic to you right now, but I have to be brutally honest when I say you only have two logical choices and you are not going to like either one of them." He told me gently in that charming way of his, taking me by the shoulders and turning my body to face his while he looked into my eyes. "You either have to do a better job at hiding it or you have to tell someone that you have this memory."

"I know where you're going with this and the answer is no! I'm not talking to Godric." I hissed louder then I intended, my emotions emitting a small beam of light from my fingers that was strong enough to push Louie's hands off me. I stood up, crossing over to the railing and looked out at the dark woods surrounding the small house. "I can't talk to him."

"Why not?" Louie wanted to know, not moving from his spot on the bench. "You two are friends, I don't see why you can't talk to him."

"He's told me before not to go digging around in his past. And what do I do? I see one of his most violent memories that he probably never even wanted me to know about, let alone see. I can't tell him about this without him completely thinking I broke his trust." I explained, turning around with my hands tucked under my arms and the night wind blowing my hair back. "I'm worried about his reaction. In fact, I kind of fear it."

"Oh please, I don't think you have to worry because Godric would never lash out violently to anything, unless it was hurting you." Louie stretched his arm along the back of the bench and sat back with his legs crossed at the ankle. "He might be angry, because from what I remember about him, he doesn't like his bad side being brought into the present. But his anger would never get physical. And I know you know that."

"That's not what I'm worried about." I shook my head, my hair blowing in front of my eyes and blocking my face from view. I didn't ever think that Godric would hurt me physically and I wasn't even afraid of having him verbally hurt me. The reasoning for my fear went much deeper then that. I tucked my hair back and looked at Louie with a shrug and confessed. "I'm worried that telling him that I saw that memory through you, will change my friendship with him."

"I hate to be the one to point this out. But isn't it already changing?" He asked, trying to sound as nice about it as possible but his words still stung. He must have been able to tell because he got up and I soon felt his hand on my shoulder while his fingers grasped my chin and lifted my face up to meet his. "I know you don't want to hear that but it's true. You said yourself that you're not acting normal around him and you're jumpy whenever he's in the same room. I hate to say it babe, but things are changing."

"I fucking hate change." I grumbled, glaring down at the porch as Louie just laughed and then pulled me into his arms for a hug. It was the first time he had ever embraced me and I was sure it would be weird but it wasn't. It was nice, comforting and friendly. Like it had been the way it was with Godric before I ever saw that glimpse into his past. I laid my head against Louie's chest and whispered. "Do you think it could go back to normal?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask. I have too much of a shitty history with Godric to make an unbiased judgment of that." He was honest, I would give him that much credit. But when he pulled back to look at me, what he said next was not what I wanted to hear at all. "But in my opinion, once things are set in motion, its very hard to put them back where they use to be. Just like you can never truly erase that memory you have of Godric. You can put it in the farthest corners of your mind and pretend like it doesn't exist. But it's still real and its always waiting in the shadows."

"Oh great. That is just so reassuring."


	23. Wild at heart

**Chapter 23 Wild at heart**

"Eric? I'm home." I called out when I stepped through the front door later that night and tossed my bag and keys on the table against the wall. I stopped by the doorway to the living room to see if he was in there and just hadn't been paying attention to me, but the room was empty. I ran my fingers through my hair and pursed my lips together before yelling. "Eric if you're here, then at least answer me please."

"I'm upstairs. In the bedroom." Eric's voice was muffled as it came from the second floor and all the way down the hallway from the room we shared. "Come up. There's something I want to show you."

"Of course there is." I grumbled, forcing myself to walk across the tiled floor and up the staircase. I wasn't really in the mood for whatever it was that Eric had in m ind right now. After talking to Louie about the whole Godric situation I was in, I was in a slightly worse mood then I was before. I thought spilling my guts to someone finally would make me feel better but instead of lifting me up, it just made me feel exhausted. So when I had left his house in the woods, I had come straight home thinking I could just crawl into bed and sleep it off. But Eric had other ideas apparently, I knew it was more then just showing me something because he had that tone in his voice that said he had an activity in mind. So when I turned the corner to the bedroom door, I was all prepared to tell him to just save it for tomorrow night. "Look Eric I'm really not in the...what the fuck?"

"You like what you see?" Eric's lip curved upward in to the biggest smirk I had ever seen on his face as he stood there in all his glory without a stitch of clothing on his body. My mouth literally hung open like there was a weight attached to my chin as my eyes got wide at the sight of his naked form standing only a few feet away towards the edge of the bed. It had been a very long time since I had last seen him naked and it left me blushing and feeling more flustered then I thought I would be. I was shocked at finding him like this but I was pleased, definitely pleased. Eric stood up straight and crossed his arms over that glorious chest of his and said. "I think you already answered my question. I can feel it in our bond. You are very happy."

"I..uh..I..I...what the hell are you doing?" I could barely formulate a sentence without it coming out all jumbled and almost incoherent. My lips fumbled my words even more because I could not stop the smile that suddenly rose up on my face. He was right, I was feeling very happy. It was amazing what coming home and seeing your vampire lover naked could do to your mood. And now as I was looking over him again, all thoughts of Godric and that memory went racing out of my head and off in to the distance. All I was seeing and thinking about was Eric and that was the best distraction of all. "Seriously, why are you just standing there naked?"

"Would you prefer that I was doing something else?" He asked barely giving me enough time for my gaze to reach his face before he flashed across the room, taking me by the arm and pushing me against the wall. His came dangerously close to mine, his cool breath chilling my skin as he leaned in close to my ear. I felt myself shudder in response, having him that close and knowing what was waiting around the corner made a cloud of excitement burst inside my stomach as he whispered. "I'm going to remind you exactly why you fell in love with me in the first place."

And then in typical Eric fashion, he didn't allow me a chance to respond before his lips descended on mine roughly and took charge. This took me so by surprise that I didn't know what to make of it. Eric was rarely ever rough with me because he had told me how delicate I was to him and he didn't want to break me. But this was entirely new. It was more unhinged and passionate and when his tongue ran across my bottom lip, I felt a yearning erupt deep inside of me. At that moment, I didn't want Eric to be careful with me. I wanted the fire and passion that had been kept hidden away since I had come back to life. I wanted the intimacy that we hadn't shared in months. I wanted to feel desired and loved and special. I wanted all of it. So when Eric's lips left my mouth I grabbed his face roughly and pulled his mouth back down to mine, barely seeing the shock in his eyes before we were both passionately kissing each other.

I felt Eric's hands on my waist, his fingers caressing the skin above my hips where my shirt has risen up and causing goosebumps to appear all over me. I wanted him to touch me all over just as I wanted to touch him. I felt like I hadn't done it enough lately so I would make up for lost time by allowing my hands to go everywhere. While his lips finally moved from my mouth down to the base of my throat, I let my palms roam from his broad shoulders downward, bypassing his long stretch of a back and right down to that gloriously shaped behind of his where I proceeded to grab a hold of it and cause him to press against me as I heard a moan escape from deep inside his throat. Eric's hands brushed over my stomach before suddenly pushing up under my shirt and going right to my breasts, his thumbs reaching under my bra and traveling across my nipples so softly, that I could not stop myself from throwing my head back and moaning louder then I had in a long time. I forgot how amazing his touch was and how just the briefest caress could elicit such a response from me. It unlocked something in me, a more animalistic side that I didn't know I had. I was feeling my arousal grow as his fingers left my nipples and started reaching between my legs underneath my skirt, but I wasn't about to let him have all the control. This time, it was my turn.

"Don't even think about it." I growled, placing my hands on his chest just as they started tingling and I watched as the white light escaped from under my palms and sent him flying backwards to the floor with ease. I smirked as I saw him lay on the carpet, slightly dazed and confused before looking up at me in bewilderment. He looked like he was about to open his mouth and say something but before he could do that, I took charge again. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled across the floor toward him, reaching his side before swinging my leg over his waist and straddled him. I eased myself down on him, satisfied by the flicker of lust in his eyes when he looked at me. I wasn't normally this aggressive, but not being intimate with Eric for so long had unleashed this beast in me and I was behaving like a maniac, but I kind of liked it. And so did Eric. "Who's in charge now?"

"You are such a tease." Eric shook his head, his hands grasping my hips as I slowly drew up the hem of my shirt, exposing my mid section slower then he would have liked. I could see in his eyes how much this was getting him going, but it was nothing to what I felt growing underneath me as I was sitting right on the space between his legs. He could have easily thrown me off and took control again but he seemed to like this role reversal as I tore my shirt off and threw it across the room as his hands went right back to my breasts, ripping off my bra and leaving it pieces. I felt a blush go across my face as it always did when I was exposed but it was soon taken over by a flash of pleasure when he sat up and I felt his hand grab a hold of me and his lips encircled my nipple, his tongue out-ling it in such a painstakingly slow way that my legs shook almost violently, causing me to roll my hips against his. He hissed at this motion before his mouth left my skin and he said. "Enough of this..."

Eric had grown impatient and it showed when he suddenly started ripping the rest of my clothes off me, leaving me just as naked as he was before his hands grabbed my hips again and I found myself being turned over on the floor on my knees with him settled behind me. It was only a second after that, that I felt his hands hold on to my waist before he suddenly thrust into me. I felt my breath catch at first, feeling an almost pain go through me at feeling Eric inside of me again. It had been so long that it reminded me of our first time, painful and slow and scary. But after a few minutes of him slowly moving in and out of me, I got use to his size again and remembered just how much I had loved being with him. A shudder went through my body in response to his movement, as did my need for him to move faster. He must have sensed that because I felt his chest pressing against my back as his arm wrapped around me before his hips began jutting against me faster then before. I threw my head against his shoulder, not caring how I sounded when my arousal started to peak and I could feel the pleasure wash over me. All I could think about was how much I remembered how it felt to be this close to the man I loved and know that he still desired me the same way he had since the beginning despite all the shit that had happened to us. I felt closer to him now then I had since my resurrection and as the pleasure ricocheted through both our bodies, I knew it wouldn't even change from here on out.

I was nearly out of breath by the time Eric had separated himself from me, leaving me to practically pass out on the floor next to him. I rolled over on my back, staring up at the ceiling with the stupidest grin on my face as he moved down next to me. He propped himself up on one elbow, his chin in his hand as he looked at me with his eyes raised in triumph, like he had accomplished something.

"So...does this mean I put you back in a better mood then you have been in a while?" He asked, his free hand reached over to cup my face and turn it to face him. I looked at his face, only to see him smiling at me in a way that I hadn't seen in all these past few months. It was a smile that said everything was going to be alright and for once I actually believed it. "Are things getting back to normal?"

"Yes yes yes. Oh god yes." I couldn't stop myself from rolling over on top of him and kissing his waiting lips like I had been wanting to do forever. I don't know what had stopped me from doing this before, because now that we had done it, I was amazed at how wonderful I felt. I pulled back to look at him, my arms wrapping around him as much as I could before I said. "I love you. You know that right?"

"Of course I do."

* * *

><p><em><span>45 minutes later<span>_

"Well well well. Would you look at this sight." Godric's voice came at Eric and I as we were walking down the stairs and it made me freeze in surprise when I saw my best friend walk out of the downstairs living room with a smirk on his face and for once I did not feel nervous about being around him at all. But that didn't mean that it was going to be comfortable because Godric must have been in a good mood because he looked right at us as we reached the floor and asked. "Did you two have fun?"

"Oh my god, you heard us? I could just die right now." I had to hide my face against Eric's shoulder as my cheeks suddenly flared up with heat at my recent escapades being pointed out to me by my friend right in front of me while Eric just stood there laughing at it like it was no big deal. My head shot up to his face and I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and hitting him in the chest. "Did you know he had come in?"

"Of course I did, he is my maker after all." Eric shared an amused smile with Godric while I just stared between them with my hands in the air in frustration. Eric continued to laugh at me before saying. "What? It's not like he hasn't heard me having sex before."

"That is sick. Just sick. You both are disgusting." I rolled my eyes, pushing Eric again but with the look on his face, I couldn't help but laugh too. "Ok, maybe it is funny and you don't find it embarrassing. But I don't particularly like having my friend walk into my house and hear me humping his child like a horny teenager. It's mortifying and..."

"And completely natural." Godric pointed out, his face turning from the tense expression he had worn for weeks into a more relaxed and playful look that I was fairly certain I had never seen before. "It's normal to want to express your love in a very passionate and primal way..."

"Godric stop it! That's gross!" I hide my face in my hands, feeling just as horrified as if he had actually seen us having sex rather then just hearing it. I would never be able to look at him without thinking of this again. "Oh my god, this has been such a great night."

"Oh yes it has." Eric replied gleefully, raising his eyebrows at me suggestively before looking at Godric. "Not to change the subject because this is more then amusing, but I do have to ask why you are here."

"I was just at Fangtasia with Pam and was on my way out to come here when she asked me to do her a favor and send you over there for a few hours." Godric explained, taking control of the conversation while I dropped my hands from my face and returned to Eric's side. "Apparently your presence is in high demand tonight and she wants you there to calm the crowds."

"Well, this night is getting better and better. I finally get laid and now I get to go attend to the masses who just fall at my feet in admiration. It's glorious." Eric sounded smug as he always did when people wanted to fawn all over him, only this time I wasn't worried about other women looking at him. We had taken a turn for the better tonight and I had no qualms about letting him go off by himself to be among beautiful women and young girls who wanted him. In the end he would still come home to me. He looked down at me with a questioning look and asked. "Do you care if I leave you here with Godric for a while?"

"You're leaving me alone so soon after we slept together? God that makes me feel so cheap." I said jokingly, this time I was the first one to start laughing as Eric looked taken aback but pleased by my response. "You just used me for my body didn't you?"

"All the time." He smirked, one hand cupping my face before he leaned down and captured my lips in a sweet kiss. He pulled away and leaned in close to my ear. "When I get back, I am locking us inside that bed room until dawn."

"I can't wait." I smiled, watching him nod to Godric before shooting towards the front door, leaving us both to look after him as he went and me to say. "Your progeny has the best ass in the world."

"Please don't ever say that to me again, its one thing for Eric to speak like that and its another thing for you to do it. It's weird." Godric shifted uncomfortably back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I think my child has corrupted you."

"He's very convincing." I laughed, turning to face my friend with a lightness in my chest that ad been missing for a while. I didn't think that after earlier tonight that I could ever look at him the same way again. But being with Eric and having put my worries on hold for a while, it somehow helped this situation between his maker and I. And I just had this feeling that things were going to be ok. Not right away of course, but it would get there eventually. So I looked at him with a smile and said. "I'm going to take a shower, but maybe afterwards we can hang out for a little bit."

"That would be wonderful." Godric looked surprised but happy at this suggestion and I saw the carefree expression return to his eyes, making me realize how much I had missed it. "I would enjoy it very much."

"Me too."

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

"Oh dear sweet Jesus, you're still smiling like an idiot."

"Well hello to you too Pam." Eric looked up from his desk where he was doing paperwork at the moment and over to the door where his progeny has just walked through with the same grumpy expression she had been wearing since he had gotten there. "You seem to be in a great mood tonight."

"Not as good as you obviously. You walk in through the front door which you never do, you laugh and smile at the stupid humans in front of the stage and you haven't glared at anyone yet. And it's beginning to scare our customers. They come to see the arrogant,selfish asshole that you are. Not this stupid little puppy dog you have become." Pam said this all with no filter to her thoughts like she always had and probably always would. She had never seen a reason to censor herself so even talking to him was no different. She walked over and sat in front of the desk with her arms crossed and a defiant frown on her face. "What is up your ass tonight?"

"Let's just say things are going back to normal in my household and I couldn't be more thrilled." Eric sat back with a smirk, the images of his hour with Allison replaying in his head and he found that he couldn't wait to return to her. Once Pam had gone and he had finished this paperwork and his rounds amongst the humans, he could leave a little earlier. "Things are finally settling down with Allison and we just had a chance to be together in a way that we haven't..."

"See what I mean? Stupid little puppy." Pam interrupted, suddenly looking annoyed as she got up and stomped across the room with her hands on her hips while he looked on. She whirled around to face him with an almost jealous look on her face. "So you got laid, big deal. You could have just said it like that instead of sounding like a pussy."

"Well that was saucy." Eric raised his eyebrows at his progeny's sudden outburst, knowing it was unusual for her to lash out like this and he wanted to know the reasoning behind it. "What's your problem?"

"I'm just so sick and tired of hearing you go on and on about how happy you are with that stupid little girl. Who gives a fuck if you're happy?" She snapped, starring at him almost in a challenging sort of way as if she was daring him to cut her off. "I swear to God Eric, you were never like this before and now you're seconds away from acting like Bill Compton. She has ruined you!"

"No she hasn't, I'm still the same vampire I was before she came along. I'm just more bearable to be around." He explained, sitting back in his seat and studied his progeny with interest. It wasn't often when Pam let her walls down and when she did, it was usually in an annoyed way that was masked by something else. "What's this really about? Because I have a feeling its not about Allison or our relationship..."

"Why do you get to always be happy and I don't?" She hissed, her eyebrows drawn low on her face as she looked at him in a more vulnerable way then ever before. "Why do you get everything you want and I get nothing?"

"Pam, you are a rich and attractive female vampire and you have pick of any human you want on a nightly basis. I hardly think that's nothing." Eric rolled his eyes at his child's almost toddler like behavior as he got up from his chair and walked around the front of his desk over to her. "Aren't you happy?"

"No, I'm not. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my life, that's not the problem. But despite all my sass and bravado and tendency to sleep with everyone I want, and trust me when I say that's fun..." Pam smiled briefly, evident that her statement did make her happy in some degree, but apparently she was after something else. "It doesn't fulfill me these days. I would never admit this to anyone else besides you, but I want what you and Allison have. I want someone to love me like Allison loves you."

"What makes you think you can't have that?" Eric asked her, frowning as he had never seen Pam get this serious in all the time that they had been together. It was right up there during the times they spent fighting Russell and she thought she would lose him. But she hadn't been that way in almost 2 years. "You'll find it if you really want to."

"I doubt that." Pam scoffed, crossing her arms tightly as she looked down at the floor. "I'm not exactly the nicest or easiest vampire to deal with. No one would want me."

"That's not true. Anyone would be lucky to have you." Eric stated, walking up to her and taking her face in his hands for a rare but serious moment between them. When he had her looking into his eyes, he went on. "And trust me when I say this, there is no one better then you."

"Really?" Pam's eyes almost got misty with blood at his words.

"Absolutely, I've been around for a thousands years and I've come across many female vampires and none of them quite measure up to you. You are one in a million, that's for sure." Eric told her, feeling protective over his progeny tonight as he would have had it been Allison. This two were the most important people in his life besides Godric. And when one of them was in pain, then so was he. "if anyone dares to say anything to the contrary, then I will slaughter them."

"Now there's the old Eric I've been missing."

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

"Hey Godric, sorry for the delay. I just got distracted after I got out of the shower." I called out as soon as I had left the bedroom and started scurrying down the hallway. I had been out of the shower for over half an hour but just as I had finished drying my hair and pulled on a gray long sleeved shirt and shorts, I had gotten a call from Sookie and had stopped to talk to her. It took longer then I thought and when I hung up, I saw over 30 minutes had passed and I felt guilty that I had kept Godric waiting. This was the first night when when I was able to act semi normal around him and I was wasting time. So I hurried down the staircase and across the floor to the living room where I found him sitting on the couch with a book in his lap. I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ears as I walked in. But when I sat down beside him, something wasn't right. "Godric? Are you ok?"

He didn't respond to my approaching footsteps and he didn't even turn his head at the sound of my voice. It was like he hadn't even heard anything and he was a vampire, he could hear every sound that went on in this house. But here he sat, just staring straight ahead of him with this odd blank look on his face. And that's when I realized where I had seen that look before. He was deep in thought, so deep that he wasn't aware of what was going on around him. It was beyond odd to see him like this because he had never looked this way before in the time I had known him.

"Godric? Seriously, you're scaring me right now. Can you just respond or at least look at me?" I waved my hand in front of his eyes. I didn't dare to touch him for fear it might startle him and he might hurt me without meaning too. When he didn't respond at all, I sat back with a frown. "What the hell are you thinking about?"

I was worried about what was going on in his head. It had to be something big to make him this unresponsive. It unnerved me because I had never seen him get this lost in thought before. But with a lifetime like his, he probably had memories that were darker then the one I had seen. And while it scared me to think there was something worse then seeing him hunt down children, I was more scared to what this memory could do to him. He was still my best friend, I didn't want him to be in pain.

"Godric please, just say something." I almost begged this of him, hoping that this time he would respond but just like the other times, there was nothing. I could see his eyes moving and his fingers twitching, so it wasn't like he was asleep in the vampire way. But I still had concerns, so I did what my instincts told me and I grabbed his shoulder and began shaking him. "Godric snap out of it."

But instead of him snapping out of it, I found myself being pulled into his head. I went deep, deeper then I had been in anyone's memories except instead of merely observing it through his eyes, I was actually inside the memories watching them as they unfolded. I saw the generations and millennium passing by on either side of me like a hallway of windows, until I was deposited on a dirt floor inside a barely lit cave. There were torches lighting the walls and boulders were everywhere. And when I turned to look at the source of a whimper, to my utter shock, I was seeing a very human Godric curled up on the cave floor completely naked while a maniacal looking dark haired vampire stood over him and it was then that I realized I was seeing Godric's maker...

_"That will teach you to disobey me, slave." The vampire said, running his long pale fingers down Godric's bare back before licking the skin on the back of his shoulder and smiling in satisfaction."Next time, you will do as I say. Do we __have an understanding?"_

_"Yes master." Godric spoke quietly, looking up with blank eyes that were misting over in un-shed tears. I felt my chest tighten as I watched from my spot beside the boulder and I wanted to cry myself. I had never seen Godric when he was a human, and the one time I did, I was being forced to watch him at his most painful memory. I didn't even want to think about what had been done to him before I came into this memory. It was obvious by the way he cowered at the vampire's feet and the fact that he had no clothes, that this vampire had raped him. And judging by the long bloody marks on his back, it was obviously he had been whipped as well. Godric's face was laying flat on the dirt as he responded again. "I will do as you say."_

_"Leave him alone!" Another voice shouted from the cave wall, gaining the attention of the vampire in question and me. I was even more shocked when I saw that the owner of the voice was none other then Louie himself, chained to boulder across the cave from me, also still human. But that didn't stop him from trying to break free. "He is just a child."_

_"Yes, yes he is. And that's what makes him so delightful." The vampire said, almost dream like as his fingers gripped Godric's messy light brown hair and yanked his head back. "And that smell...Mmmmm...there is nothing better then the smell of a young male."_

_"Oh my god." I whispered, wanting to rush over and push that vampire away from him. But I was rooted to the spot, unable to move and even my voice went unnoticed by these three. I was simply an observer, I couldn't change this memory, I could only watch. And watched in horror as this vampire withdraw a long whip from the space behind him and stood up with it clutched in his hand. I barely was able to open my mouth to scream before I watched being brought back down on his back. "Nooooooooooo."_

_"Stop it!" Louie shouted, rattling his chains as the cracking sound of the whip filled the air as did the smell of blood as the barely healed wounds on Godric's back were reopened and started to heavily bleed. Godric grunted in response, but he did not cry, scream or shout. He took it in near silence, which somehow made it all the more worse. Louie was fighting hard from his spot, but he couldn't help him. "Please stop. Take me instead, just leave him alone."_

_"He is much more interesting to me then you ever will be." The vampire said, dropping the whip and eying the way the blood ran in rivers down Godric's back. He licked his lips in a hungry sort of way before he dropped down to his knees, straddling Godric from behind and grabbing his hair again. "I think one more time will be enough to remind you to never go against my orders ever again."_

_I barely was able to scream before I watched the vampire lower himself further and then proceed to thrust into Godric's shaking body without any mercy..._

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Godric's hand had suddenly gripped mine, pulling me out of his head and memory and back into the present on that couch in the living room. As I came out of it and felt the tightness in the way he had grabbed me, I also saw the look of pure rage on my best friend's face as he tossed my arm away and got up with a unfamiliar look in his eyes. "How dare you get inside my head...what fucking gives you the right to see something that private..and.."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said desperately, getting up with my head shaking and my hands waving. I wasn't quite sure what I was apologizing for, whether it was for accidentally seeing a memory of his without permission or if it was for the horrible things he had been forced to go through when he was still human. I felt a tear run down my cheek as I looked at him standing there. I was more then horrified at the lack of things I had known about him. "I didn't mean to see it. It was just an accident. Sometimes it happens, like when I saw you hunting down children and..."

"You saw that too?" He asked, his face darkening when I quickly nodded. "And now you saw this."

"It was an accident. I swear. I didn't mean to." I stammered, backing away from him as he glared at me like I had been the one to cause him pain. "Godric, please.."

"You saw one of my darkest memories. A memory I never intended anyone to know about, let alone see. And now you saw it." Godric shook his head, mumbling to himself like he no longer realized it was me who was talking to him. "How could you..."

I didn't even have a chance to prepare myself before he lashed out at me, grabbing my by the shoulders and tossing me against the wall by the door in a fit of blind rage. My back crashed against the woodwork, causing me to whimper as I fell to the floor and saw Godric's stormy face coming at me again, even as I tried to get away. This wasn't him, this wasn't my friend attacking me. This was the angry little boy he was back them for what had happened to him, this wasn't the Godric I knew.

"Godric stop it." I cried out loud, just as he snatched me up again and pushed me right out of the room and to the tiled front hallway. I felt the back of my head hit the floor and I nearly gasped at the pain but I was conscious enough to keep on moving backwards. At least until he was on top of me and had turned me over so I was facing him. It was then that I saw his fangs had come out and were glaring at me along with the rest of his face as he held my wrists down to the floor. "Godric please, snap out of it..."

But Godric didn't hear me or he just didn't want to, as he reared his head back and plunged his fangs right into my neck and into the main vein that would give the maximum amount of my blood. I screamed at the sudden pain, screamed at him to stop, but he simply took one hand and covered my mouth with his palm while he went on sucking out my life force at an alarming rate. He didn't seem to even realize it was me squirming under him, he just hungrily drank from me and split my blood on the white tiled floor under us. I kept on trying to scream, trying to get him to stop but he never did. He had tasted my blood and he wanted more, he wanted all of it. I tried to will my hands to emit that glow of light and for a second I felt it erupt from my fingertips, but out of the corner of my eye I watched as it flickered and then died, taking away any hope I had at saving myself as he drank from me even faster then before. I don't know why I still struggled, without my powers, I couldn't move him. But it was my body's instinct to fight back and that's what I did. Until something more horrifying started to dawn on me.

My heart, that had been racing from the moment I had come out of that memory was now starting to slow down to a terrifyingly slow pace. I could feel it faintly beating inside my chest but not at a normal speed. I knew what this meant and it scared me. My vision was starting to darken over, blood spots appearing on the outer edge of my eye sight as I fought to stay conscious. But he was drinking fast, way too fast for me to stay awake for too much longer. It was identical to how I felt in the graveyard that night those months ago. I was getting cold and shaky, I could feel the light leaving my body despite my feeble attempts to fight back.

"Godric...Godric stop it..." I could hear my voice faintly whisper as I blinked my eyes, trying to keep myself there, but each blink made it worse then the last and I felt an exhaustion start to creep over me just as I felt death's fingers closing in on me. "Stop...you're killing me."

But that would be the last thing I ever said as my vision clouded over completely and I finally blacked out.

**A/N: yes...the unthinkable happened...and just wait till you see Eric's reaction in the next chapter**


	24. What comes after the storm

**Chapter 24 What comes after the storm**

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

It was Eric's screaming voice that some how woke me from the near death haze I was in, just in time to feel Godric's fangs leave my neck as he was ripped off of me and tossed somewhere off in the realm beyond my foggy vision. I could barely hear anything going on around me, I couldn't feel my body as it was so cold, but I was somehow holding on to my consciousness and had enough energy to turn my head to catch sight of Eric facing down Godric on the other side of the hall. I couldn't really see their faces but I knew it was them by the way their fighting forms were moving and by the sound of their arguing voices. I tried to hold on to the sound because if I didn't then I would slip away again. And I had to stay awake long enough for Eric to subdue Godric so he could give me his blood. But staying awake took a lot more energy then I had in me and it was becoming quite painful to stay conscious when I so badly just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.

Eric and Godric were fighting at this point, I could just make out the sounds of their bodies crashing into walls and furniture being turned over in their battle for control. I could see Eric trying to make his way over to me but Godric always got in his way and pushed him back, clearly not being himself due to how much of my blood he had taken. I was forced to watch this exchange from my spot on the floor, my neck sore and aching and my body shaking with cold. I wasn't going to last long, even I knew that. I knew what it felt to have death creeping up on me as I had experienced it before. So this was no different, it was just worse because Eric could save me, but Godric being drunk on my blood wasn't letting him. I was slipping away as my breathing became less pronounced and ragged and I was on the verge of giving in when Eric's pained voice yelled out from the other side of the hall.

"Godric, she's dying because of you. Let me help her while I still have a chance!" Eric desperate plea must have somehow gotten through to Godric because I was able to see through the haze in my eyes as Godric stumbled towards the doorway and disappeared into the night as Eric slammed the door shut and flipped the lock. It was the next second when I saw his face hovering over mine, his hand slipping under my neck and lifting me upwards against him with my eyes fluttering while he practically yelled. "Oh no you don't, you better fucking stay awake. You don't get to die on me, not again."

I couldn't respond to him, all my energy going to trying to be able to draw breath into my lungs. My eyelids felt heavy as if there were weights attached to them and I don't know how I kept them pried open. I couldn't see his face clearly at all as death was trying to steal my sight, but I was able to make out his arm going to his mouth and a familiar hiss fill my ears as he bit into his own skin. Then there red liquid being brought towards me as he pressed his arm again my lips.

"Drink." He ordered, his free hand holding me up against him while his wrist remained at my mouth. He rattled his arm, trying to get me to take the blood but I didn't have the energy to drink on my own. Any ounce of strength was now gone from my body as I was starting to go still. I heard Eric's panicked voice shout at me from what seemed like a great distance away. "No, I'm not losing you. Not like this."

Eric titled my head back on his lap, prying open my lips and taking his arm and holding it above my mouth. He must have been squeezing at the wound because I felt droplets of blood enter my mouth before his fingers went to my neck, stroking the skin to force the blood down. I wasn't able to drink on my own, but those few drops gave me enough energy to at least keep my eyes open as he repeated this process. At one point he had to bite into his arm again to make the wound bigger so the blood would flow faster and he kept forcing it into my mouth, trying to keep me there with him. I don't know how long we were there for, but at some point I was able to reach up and touch his arm with my hands. I heard him gasp in surprise as I grabbed on to him and started sucking at his wrist, drawing the blood into my mouth on my own. His free hand was on the back of my head, bringing me up to a sitting position as I drank and I felt his chin settle on my head as I took more of his blood.

I had never had this much of Eric's blood, not even when I had been injured at the hands of the Fellowship. But with each minute that went by and the more I drank, the more alive I felt. The messy wounds Godric had left on my neck were starting to heal, getting smaller and smaller until they closed completely. My heart that had been slowed down by death's call was now start to quicken in its beating, returning to normal and probably sounding like music to Eric's ears. And finally, my vision came back into focus, the haze disappearing until every image was sharp and as perfect as it had been just 20 minutes earlier. I pushed Eric's arm away from me, breathing hard at feeling the life in my body again and feeling shaky at the thought of how close I had come to sharing the same fate I had been in just months before.

"Oh God thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Eric's whispers were loud in my ear as he cradled my shaking body close to his, his arms wrapped around me tightly as tears slipped down my cheeks. I reached my arms around him, trying to hold him as tightly as he was holding me, but even with all that blood in me, I was exhausted emotionally and physically. But luckily, Eric was stronger then I would ever be and remained there with me on the floor, holding me like he would never let go.

_20 minutes later_

"You need to sleep, you've been through enough tonight." Eric mumbled, depositing me on the bed after exiting the bathroom nearly half an hour later after cleaning all the blood off me and changing my clothes even though I insisted I could do it myself. He was so unsure of himself after what happened that I just let him do it with out much of a fight, knowing he needed the task to get his mind off of what he had come home to find. I knew he was tormented by my explanation of what had happened before the attack and even though it didn't excuse Godric's behavior, I wanted Eric to know it wasn't entirely Godric's fault. I wanted him to understand that his maker had been so caught up in the horror of these memories that he wasn't thinking straight when he lashed out at me. But I only told him all that for his benefit since he would at least have some clarity about the situation. And that's where my own understanding ended. I did not want to feel sympathy for Godric any more because no matter what memory I might have encroached on, it didn't give him the right to almost take my life. I looked up at Eric as he stood before me, his hand on the side of my face as he said. "I can't believe he did this to you."

"I don't want to talk about it. It's...too haunting for me right now." I shook my head, my damp hair catching my face before I tucked it back. I fell silent for a minute, letting things swirl around my head before they found a place and I looked up to meet Eric's eyes and then proceeded to state. "You need to go after him. You need to go find Godric."

"No." Eric's immediate answer was a refusal which was what I had expected after what had occurred, his face stubborn and unrelenting. "You need me here to take care of you."

"I'm fine right now thanks to you. And now you have to go make sure that he's fine too. You know what Fae blood can do to a vampire, and my blood is full Fae. He's going to be delirious from all of it. You have to go get him." I explained to Eric, shuddering at the thought of what my blood was doing to a 2000 year old vampire. I knew I was intoxicating and even a few drops of my blood was enough to whip vampires into a frenzy. But Godric had nearly drained me, almost took every drop of blood in me and now he was running around Shreveport doing God only knows what. Someone had to stop him. "Eric, if he's not contained, then he could hurt someone else."

"I don't care. I can't leave you alone so soon after the attack." He shook his head, still resisting the idea as he touched my face gently as if he thought I would break. "Even if he is my maker, I can't leave you."

"It will make me feel better if I knew he wasn't out there running around causing chaos and I know it will make you feel better too so don't try and lie to me. Just go and find him." I was practically begging at this point for him to go. Not that I wanted him to, in fact I just wanted him to stay by my side in this room until things somehow went back to normal. But after tonight, I knew that would never happen. And there was still a part of me that needed to make sure Godric was alright. "Eric go. Do whatever you have to do to subdue Godric. Just stop him before he loses it completely."

"Fine." Was all Eric said as before he leaned forward, pressing his lips against my forehead gently, leaving them there for a full minute before pulling away and headed towards the door. He barely got to the hallway before he looked back over to me and I saw the guilt and shame in his face. "I'm sorry he did this to you. He's my maker, I should have known him well enough to know something like this could have happened."

"He never talked about it so you couldn't have known. Don't blame yourself." I replied, feeling my lower lip shake as I watched him leave the hallway and head towards the stairs. I stayed in that same spot on the bed as my ears strained to catch every sound Eric made. It was only when I heard the front door open and them slam shut did I feel myself start to shake apart at the seams. I moved over to the middle of the bed and curled up into a tight ball under the sheet just as a flood of tears made their way down my face.

* * *

><p><em><span>35 minutes later<span>_

"Eric what the fuck is going on?" Pam demanded as she burst into the small clearing in the woods where he was standing in the moonlight waiting for her after he had summoned her presence and as she walked closer to him, her eyes zeroed in on the gun in his hand and her face went slack. "Eric, why do you have a gun? What the hell is going on?"

"I need your help with something." He mumbled, his hands gripping the weapon tightly, almost crushing the metal his grasp as he thought of the reason why he needed it in the first place. He couldn't dwell too long on it though or else he would never go through with it and he had to. For Allison's sake he had to do this. He looked at his child and knew he had to offer the whole explanation in order for her to understand the importance of this task. "We need to shoot up Godric with silver bullets to weaken him."

"I'm sorry but did I just hear you say you want me to help you shoot your own maker? Are you out of your god damn mind?" Pam wasn't often taken aback by anything, but this request had certainly done it. She stepped closer to him with an apprehensive look in her eyes and asked. "Why are you doing this? Why would you of all people want to shoot your maker?"

"He attacked Allison tonight. He nearly killed her by draining her body of blood all because she accidentally saw something from his past. He lashed out and bit her and now he's running around drunk on Faerie blood. Is that enough of an explanation for you?" Eric snapped, shooting a glare at his progeny for questioning his logic for doing something this unprecedented. He didn't want to hurt his maker, but even he knew that if left up to his own devices, then Godric could hurt or even kill someone or possibly wind up dead himself. And he had to be stopped. "We need to lock him up so he can detox from all the blood he took from Allie. The only problem is that he is twice as old as I am and on Faerie blood, he is stronger then that. The only way to contain him long enough to lock him away is to weaken him with silver bullets. I don't want to do it, but its the only way."

"Ok then, as long as you have a plan." Pam nodded quickly excepting this explanation right away but her face still registered the disbelief over this notion that Godric would attack Allison. "Just one question. How are we suppose to get Godric here to shoot him?"

"I'm gong to shoot myself first." Eric said with out a second's pause, bring out an even more shocked look on his child's face then before. "Even being drunk on Fae blood, Godric will still feel my pain and he will come to check on me And before you even start, I'm doing this whether you like it or not."

"Well of course I don't like it. We're talking about willingly shooting yourself up with silver bullets and taking on pain that isn't completely necessary." Pam began to rant but upon seeing the look Eric was keeping on his face, she went passive. "Ok fine. I'll stay here and do whatever you need me to do."

"Good. Now take the gun after I do this and stay out of sight." Eric ordered her, knowing he wouldn't have to command her to do what he asked. So he cocked the gun and without thinking twice, he fired three direct shots into his leg, forcing him to shout out loud in a slew of profanities. He dropped the gun to the ground, grabbing his leg as he too fell to the dirt as the silver started burning him from the inside out. The pain was sharp, hot and agonizing but bearable for what he had to do. He looked up at Pam who had shot over to him and said. "Take it and hide. Right now."

Pam nodded and without another word, she took the gun and shot into the tree line, disappearing from immediate view. It was just in time too as there was the sound of a hissing wind in the distance and already he could tell it was his maker fast approaching just as he knew he would. It was going to take every ounce of will power in him to pull this off as he had never once thought of having to attack his own maker. But when he spotted Godric stumbling into the clearing, his face dazed and his eyes glazed over, he knew what he was doing was the right thing.

"My child...you..are in pain." Godric's voice was unstable and slightly slurring as if he were merely a drunk human instead of a vampire hopped up on Fae blood. Eric watched as his maker took unsteady steps towards him, waiting for the right moment to strike, knowing there would be a very small window to pull this off. And when Godric's head was turned, Eric forgot his pain and flashed forward, grabbing his maker's shoulder's and shooing him to the ground, which did not sit well with Godric, as his face flushed darkly. "How dare you.."

"Pam, now!" Eric shouted to wherever his child was hiding, grabbing Godric by the neck to hold him in place. Luckily for him, Godric wasn't at his peak of strength as he was distracted by the intoxication of the blood, giving Eric that window that he needed to over power his maker. Pam came out of nowhere, gun raised to eye level before she let loose with the first round of shots. Eric held Godric apart from him, right in Pam's path and watched as his maker's body was peppered with silver bullets. The blood came flying out of the tiny wounds, some of it landing on Eric himself as the smell of smoking flesh filled his nostrils from the silver. He released Godric from his hold, watching the surprised and pained look enter his face as he fell to the ground while Pam shot another 2 rounds into his body, ensuring that he would be the maximum amount of weak that they could pull off. Eric motioned for her to stand down as he looked in to the betrayed eyes of the vampire who had created him. "Enough Pam, he's weaker now. He'll be easier to deal with. We have enough time to bring him somewhere before the bullets push themselves out and he regains his strength."

"Where in the hell are we suppose to lock up a drunk 2000 year old vampire?" Pam questioned, stuffing the gun in her back pocket. "Answer me that."

"We'll take him back to my house and chain him in the basement." Eric answered, knowing this solution wouldn't sit well with anyone but it was the best option they had. He leaned down to grab Godric and looked at Pam. "You want to help me out here?"

"Jesus Christ, this is so damn bad..."

_15 minutes later_

"Make the chains tight...and thick too. Even without the blood, he's still strong. I can't have him getting free until the blood is gone from his system."

"I'm doing it as well as I can but silver is not exactly my favorite thing to play with."

"No times for jokes Pam, this is serious."

"Well no shit. We just shot your maker and now we're chaining him in silver in your basement on the wall. Obviously any thought of this being a joke went out the window a long time ago." Pam rolled her eyes at him as she tightened and then re-tightened, the coils of silver they had wrapped around Godric's limp body down there in the dark of what was Eric's resting area but was now going to be Godric's prison. Pam set another set of silver around Godric's ankles and legs before looking up at him and asking. "Is this good enough? Will this keep him from breaking free?"

"I think it should hold him for now, if I have to, I will hire a witch to put a spell on this room to keep him from getting out." Eric stated, securing the last of the silver around Godric's wrists and stood back just as his maker lifted his head and met his eyes with an accusingly stare, looking more alert then he had earlier. "Well, welcome back to the real world master."

"Eric? Is this really necessary?" Godric's voice was still shaky, evident that even though he was having clarity, he still seemed to be craving more of that forbidden blood. He shook his arms, finding them bound tightly with silver and virtually immobile. His face twisted, looking less like the wise older vampire that he was and more like the monster he had become tonight. "You are treading on dangerous grounds my child. Shooting me, silvering me to your basement wall. I could..."

"You are going to remain here until you have completely detoxed from the Faerie blood you ingested..." Eric felt his face twitch at the mention of anyone tasting Allison's blood besides him. If it had been anyone else, then Eric would have killed them in an instant. But this was Godric, this was his maker. Even though he had betrayed both him and Allison in unimaginable ways, he couldn't do more then this. He just didn't have it in him. "You are not yourself and I will not have you wrecking havoc on my area.."

"I apologize for putting you in that position. But I am fine." Godric did not sound like himself, in fact it was fake sincerity that he was spitting out which is something the old Godric would never do. "You can release me.."

"I cannot do that. Not after what you did to Allison tonight." Eric's face darkened at his maker, staring deep into those normally calm eyes and seeing through the haze as realization seemed to dawn on him. "You remember what you did, don't you?"

"Oh god..." Godric had a moment of pure clarity, the haze going from his eyes and he almost appeared horrified as his actions were being pointed out to him again. His face shot back and forth between him and Pam before asking. "Is she alright?"

"Like you care." Eric found himself snapping, stepping back with his arms crossed so he didn't do something he couldn't take back. "She's alive, no thanks to you."

"Eric I am so sorry..." Godric began to say, but Eric could not stand to listen to this man speak anymore and simply turned on his heels and shot out of the room, leaving Pam to deal with his maker as he could no longer do it.

Eric shot back up to the first floor where he promptly leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, just as the basement door opened and Pam came out after him. He didn't say anything to her as she stood there watching him and he didn't respond when she took the spot next to him. In fact, nothing was said between them for a good 5 minutes, each just stuck in there own haze of thoughts while they listened to Godric moving around in the room below them. It wasn't until he felt Pam's hand on his shoulder did he look up.

"Hey...don't feel bad about this. You did what you had to do." Pam told him, her voice softer and more compassionate then he had ever heard from her in their time together. "He's unhinged and you are just doing whatever it takes so he doesn't become a danger to himself. There's no shame in that."

"Oh yea?" Eric shook his head, feeling his entire being fill up with infinite amounts of guilt for things he couldn't even give voice to. "Then why do I feel like I just staked my own maker?"

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

I was still laying in the middle of the bed in the same position I had been in when Eric had left me there alone over an hour ago. I thought I would have fallen asleep by now, my body was certainly asking me to but my mind was unwilling to let that happen just yet. It had begun to spin ideas, winding them through all corners of my brain as I thought about what had happened tonight. And although I would have rather put it aside for now, I had surprisingly come to a conclusion about where I wanted to go from here that I would have to bring up to Eric when he came upstairs which I knew could be any minute now.

I had heard him and Pam come through the front in a rather loud fashion, sounding like they were dragging something behind them and I realized it must have been Godric. I don't know what they did to him, but it didn't sound like he was putting up a fight and I could hear them disappearing further into the house while I continued to lay here and just stare out the glass door that lead to the balcony and directed my eyes towards the full moon that was hanging in the sky. I wasn't sure how long I had been staring at it, but a sound in the door way made me sit up and look across the room to find Eric standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a glum look on his face. But before I could ask him what was the matter, he shocked me by answering it first.

"I shot myself in the leg with silver bullets to trick Godric into appearing in the woods. And then I made Pam shoot him with a dozen rounds. And we dragged him back here. He's chained in silver down in the basement." Eric explained in very short even sentences as he walked from the doorway and sat on the edge of the bed as I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. He caught my eye and shrugged. "I did what I had to do and weakening him with silver was the only way for me to over power him."

"Don't feel bad about that. It's good that you did it. Now he can't hurt himself or anyone else." I crawled across the bed until I was behind Eric and I wrapped my arms around him, setting my chin on his shoulder. I was keeping my voice light for his benefit since I knew this was tough for him as he was being pulled in opposite directions. He loved me and he wanted to protect me, but Godric was also his maker and there were years of loyalty there. It was conflicting for him and I didn't want to make it worse by badmouthing his maker. But I did have something else to bring up to him and I just hoped I wasn't making a mistake by talking about it now. I sighed heavily before saying. "Eric...we need to talk."

"Oh no you don't. I don't like the sound of this." Eric removed my arms from around him and stood up from the bed, whirling around with his hands on his hips as I sat back to look at the hard expression on his face. "Every time you say we need to talk, it ends up being something I don't want to hear and then I go out and destroy all the furniture. So no I don't want to..."

"I want to break away from Shreveport for a while. I want to leave and just go away." I blurted out before I could lose my nerve which I did not have a lot of after night. I watched as my words settled on his face and for the briefest of seconds, I saw a look of pure betrayal directed at me. I didn't have to read his mind to know he was thinking that I wanted to end our relationship just because of what his maker did. That wasn't the case at all. In fact, this had nothing to do with Eric at all. "Eric, this isn't about us. I just need to get away from this place for a little bit. At least until Godric has detoxed."

"No,no, no. You're not leaving. If you're uncomfortable with Godric being here in the house then I can have him moved." Eric shook his head vehemently, as if this conversation was already settled and over with just by his response. "I only brought him here because it was closest. But I can move him to the basement at Fangtasia if that's better. But you don't have to leave, he can leave."

"No, that's not right. Godric needs to be here, not at the bar. Despite what he did, he should be in a place where his child is nearby to take care of him and help him through this. You can't turn him away." This time I was the one who shook my head no. It didn't matter that I was terrified about having Godric in the same house as me, it didn't matter that I would be worried about him somehow breaking free and coming after me again. This was still a vampire that meant a great deal to Eric and therefore it meant something to me. "Eric, I know you love me, but you and Godric have had too many years together for you to ever pick me over him. He has to come first."

"This is different, way different." Eric protested, looking more stubborn then ever before as he flashed over to me and grabbed me by the arms. "He attacked you, almost killed you. You're the love of my life and he nearly took you away from me tonight. I will never put him first right now."

"But he's your maker." I pointed out, looking up at Eric with pleading eyes.

"But I love you." Eric shot back, shaking me slightly as his fingers tightened. "I love you damn it."

"You love him too, even aside from what he did tonight. He's your maker and you will always love him. And despite what happened, I want you to help him. I don't want him to hurt anyone else. So please help him." I had to keep my own personal feelings about Godric to myself for the moment. There would be a time for me to let loose about how I was feeling but right now I had to stay stoic or else Eric would never see it my way. "I know you well enough to know you want to help him, but to do that, you have to let me go. At least for a little while."

"Where would you go? How far would you go?" He demanded, releasing me from his hold and stepped back with a frown. "How long would you be gone?"

"You're not going to like this, but I want to go to Mystic Falls to see Elena and the Salvatores." I said without blinking, knowing just how much an effect my words were going to have on him. I couldn't even believe I had come to this decision. But as I was laying there watching the moon for the past hour, it had dawned on me just how much time had passed since I had last seen them and it would be the perfect way to get out of the state and take a break from all that has happened lately. Even if Eric didn't like it. "Look it's the first time they will see me since before my death and they don't even know I'm alive. I just want to be with my friends and I so desperately need this break. So please just let me go."

"You can't travel alone. And if you're basically ordering me to stay here and keep watch on my drunk maker then I'm ordering you to take a companion." Eric ran his fingers through his short hair, his eyes narrowing to slits. "And I think I have a feeling of who you're going to suggest..."

"If he's willing then I would like to bring Louie..." My voice trailed off as I saw Eric's face flush with jealousy, so much so that I got off the bed and went over to him. He didn't move as I wrapped my arms around him and said. "You know there is nothing to worry about there, don't you?"

"Oh yea, why shouldn't I be worried about you traveling with a handsome vampire to go see more handsome vampires. Nothing to worry about at all. Have fun." He replied sarcastically, not even looking at me as he proceeded to pout like a child who didn't get his way. I had to take his face between my hands to make our eyes meet and even then he just rolled his blue orbs at me. "Fine, its fine if you take Louie with you. But at least tell me when you plan on running off with him."

"Tomorrow. When the sun sets tomorrow night, I will be gone."

* * *

><p><em><span>The next night<span>_

The next 24 hours passed without any more drama. Eric and I laid together in bed until I fell asleep and this morning when I woke up, he had gone to another of the spare bedrooms where there were no windows to sleep away the day. I kept myself busy by trying to figure out what to pack and what to tell Sookie so she would understand why I wouldn't be around for a while. I ended up telling her the truth in a voice message that I left when I knew she couldn't pick up because she was at work. By the time she got it, it would be night time and I would be leaving. I had called Louie last night and explained the situation before asking him if there was any way he would be willing to come with me even though he didn't know any of these people and luckily for me he had agreed to it right off the bat. He was going to be here with a taxi to take us to the airport as soon as the sun had set and now all I had to do was finish packing and change my clothes as there would only be another hour until night was here and I was off to escaping this torment for a while.

"I don't want you to go." Eric's voice came from the direction of the doorway, causing my head to snap up at his sudden appearance in the room before the sun had fully set. He was leaning against the frame, apparently watching me for who knew how long before he had spoken. Now he was walking towards me with a glum look on his face. "I hate having to see you leave."

"To be honest, I don't even want to leave either. I would rather just stay here with you and spend every night in that bed loving you." I told him with a small smile, hating that he was looking so hateful over the idea of losing me even if it was only for a short amount of time. "But I can't stay. I want to see my friends and I have to get away from everything that has happened. It wasn't just Godric that pushed me to this decision. It was everything combined together, not just what happened with Godric."

"But he was the catalyst..." Eric pointed out, standing on the farthest corner of the room away from the fading rays of sunlight coming through the balcony double doors. "You wouldn't be leaving if it weren't for him."

"I would still be going away even if he hadn't attacked me and we both know that." I walked around the side of the bed so I was closer to him, I didn't want to leave with things awkward between us. "It was inevitable that this would happen. If it wasn't Godric, then something else would have set me off. It's just how it is."

"Damn it. I hate this. I feel like I'm always losing you." Eric closed the distance and took my face between his hands, his body pressing against mine as our foreheads touched. "Even when you're here, you're not really here."

"That's because I never really got a chance to breathe. It was one thing after another and I need to get away from this place to recharge. You know I haven't been myself since my resurrection." I placed my hands on his arms, holding on to him tightly as I remembered this wasn't just about Godric. I realized that now. There were so many other things at play here and the attack last night just pushed me to a decision that would have happened anyway. I needed this time away. I needed to relax and be in a different place, then maybe I could be myself again. I looked up at Eric's face and sighed. "I don't want to be this scared, jumpy little girl anymore. I want to be the girl you first fell in love with."

"You still are that girl...you just got turned around for a while." He broke into a smirk at that moment and I knew somehow because of it, things were going to be ok. But it was his next words that convinced me of it even more. "But if you feel like you need to go away for a while to feel safe and find yourself again, then do it and don't look back."

"Don't worry, I'll come home to you. I always will." I retorted, feeling my eyes well up with tears and I had to blink before they got worse. "It will only be a few days, then I will be back."

"You better or else I'm going to be super pissed." Eric chuckled, tucking my hair back behind my ears and caressing my cheeks with his thumbs. "I'll be even more pissed if you end up falling in love with another vampire."

"Oh God you are a piece of work." I laughed, wiping at my eyes to ward off tears before I looked at him again. "I won't love anyone like I love you. You never have to worry about that."

* * *

><p><em><span>60 minutes later<span>_

"Oh dear god, here comes that pain in the ass." Eric grumbled from beside me as we stood out on the front porch later that night just as the taxi came to a stop at the front of the house and Louie emerged from the back seat dressed in all black, looking just as charming and good looking as he always did. Only it was made better by his all black clothing and that only made Eric glare at him with eyes full of jealousy. "I cannot believe I am letting go away with that ass hole."

"Eric, he's just traveling me. So shut up." I hissed at him just as Louie stepped up closer to the bottom of the steps and I smiled at him. "Hello Louie."

"Allison, you look well." Louie's eyes went right to my neck, looking for any sign of lingering damage but there was none. Eric's blood had healed me completely so there was no evidence about what had gone on the night before. But Louie, ever the gentleman, wanted to make sure for himself despite my assurance over the phone. "So I guess we should get going. Don't want to miss our flight."

"Just one second because I have something to say to you. And You better listen." Eric jumped down the steps to the ground right in front of Louie, showing no qualms about getting in the face of a vampire twice his age. He obviously had an agenda ever since I had told him Louie had agreed to this and now he was playing it out with vigor. "You may be twice as old as I am, but I am entrusting you with her safety. If anything happens to her then I will have your ass. Do you understand me?"

"Well you used such big words that I don't...yes, of course I understand you." Louie raised his eyebrows, looking around Eric towards me as if to say that Eric was a total whack job of a vampire. "You have my word that I will protect her."

"That's not good enough." Eric got testy at the moment and he must have picked up some extra courage because he actually reached out and grabbed Louie by the front of the shirt as if were a mere newborn. " She may trust you, but I don't. So I'm going to need more then just your word. Your word means shit."

"Christ Eric, will you just relax?" I had to roll my eyes at this display of emotion from him, but then again when Eric was passionate about something, he did not have a filter to his words. As was evident by what he said next.

"I mean it, I love her and I won't let her leave unless I'm sure she is well protected." Eric growled, eying Louie in challenging kind of way as if daring him to snap back. "You better fucking convince me right now."

"How about I promise to lay down my life for her if the situations calls for it? I will die if it means keeping her safe." Louie's eyes did narrow even though he kept his composure. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Now it is." Eric smirked, letting Louie go with a little shove before he turned back around to look at me with a shrug. "What?"

"You are insane, you know that right?" I asked stepping down closer to him while Louie snatched up my suitcase and went back to the taxi. I wrapped my arms around Eric's shoulders, pulling him in close. "Utterly insane."

"I'm Eric Northman, it's in my nature to be insane." He told me, touching my face with his fingertips as if wanting one last feel of my skin against his before I left. "Now kiss me before I have to let you run off with that little bitch."

"You are so mean." I smiled but I leaned in and pressed my lips against his anyway, feeling a flurry in my stomach as I always did when we kissed. Only this time I was making sure it was the best one I could give him so it would last until the next time we would see each other. I had to pull away though just to catch my breath as I leaned my forehead against his. "Goodbye Eric. I love you."

"No goodbyes, goodbyes are too final. I'll just say, see you soon." Eric's hand went to the back of my head and pulled me forward again, our lips meeting passionately for a short while before he finally let me go and stepped away. "I love you too."

I had to walk away at that moment without looking back or else I never would have the strength to leave him there. I walked towards the taxi, not saying a word to Louie as I got into the backseat and he followed me in the same silent manner. The taxi driver turned towards the long driveway and began heading down towards the entrance, leaving the house behind and Eric on the porch to watch us leave. It wasn't until we had turned onto the road and were truly heading away that Louie spoke to me. Actually it was his hand that got my attention as he reached over and took it almost without me knowing he had moved. And when he touched me, I turned my head to see him smiling gently at me.

"Things are going to be ok. You know that right?" He seemed so sure of himself at that moment, complete confidence in what I was doing even as I was doubting my action. He squeezed my fingers again and said. "This time away will help you heal. It will be for the best, I promise you."

"That may be true but one thing is for certain. Things will never be the same again."

**A/N: and now we have reached the halfway point...things only get crazier after this. Stay tuned for the next chapter because on their way to Mystic Falls Allie and Louie bond over his own tormented past with Godric...trust me, you dont want to miss it**


	25. The Lonely Road

**Chapter 25 The Lonely Road**

"You're very quiet." Louie whispered to me a few hours later as we sat side by side in the empty first class part of the plane on our way to Mystic Falls and I simply leaned my head against the window and looked out into the pitch black night and didn't respond with more then just a shrug. I hadn't said much since we arrived at the airport or when we were seated an hour ago in the very expensive section that Eric insisted on paying for. I hadn't offered any resistance since I knew he would end up getting his way somehow. So I just let it happen and fell into my own thoughts, not even realizing any significant amount of time had passed until Louie nudged me with his elbow and I looked up to see him staring at me with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"I can't stop thinking about it, about what Godric did." I explained, my fingers going instantly to my neck half expecting to find his fang marks still there but there was nothing but smooth skin. "I keep replaying it in my mind and each time it's just..."

"You shouldn't do that." He interrupted, his head instantly starting to shake before he stopped to stare at me with his calm blue/green eyes. "Don't dwell on it too long. Because if you let it go on longer then it should, then it will drive you crazy. Thinking about it too much is going to scare you even more."

"I'm already terrified of him, so don't tell me I need to stop thinking about it." I found myself snapping at Louie's concerned face, feeling annoyed that he would tell me to let it go just the night after it had happened. What the hell did he know about it? "He was my best friend and he attacked for something I didn't do intentionally to hurt him. I can't just not think about it."

"I understand, I truly do. I'm only trying to help you." He told me, his hands twitching like he was fighting the urge to reach out and comfort me, but I sent him a look that kept him from moving and he just sat there with his hands on the arm rests looking at me. "I don't want you to torture yourself like this."

"You don't know a damn thing about what is going on inside of me, so stop pretending you can sympathize with me." I hissed, my arms crossing tightly around my small frame as I grew even more frustrated. It was amazing that I had gone from barely talking to wanting to pull my hair out and start yelling. It was a complete turnabout. But I was irked by this intrusion by Louie in my thoughts. I appreciated his attempt to want to help. But he was basically telling me to forget that my best friend had nearly killed me. How in the hell did he expect me to do that? "You don't know what it's like to have the friend you thought you knew hurt you in a way that you can never forgive."

"Actually I do." Louie responded through gritted teeth, his face growing tight with tension so fast that I actually couldn't look away from him when he spoke again. And when he did, I felt terrible. "Do you not remember what I have told you about my past with Godric?"

I went silent after that, feeling like I had been slapped in the face with a brick. Of course Louie could relate to the problem I had with Godric because he had been the first one to have been hurt by the vampire we both once called a friend. How could I have forgotten what Louie had told me about his past with Godric and Helen? I was so heartless to not remember that he still had his own pain to deal with and here I was getting pissed off at him when he was just trying to prove I wasn't alone in this. I wanted to hide at that moment but Louie wouldn't let me as he reached over and I felt his fingers cross over my hand.

"I want to show you something." He said when I looked up at him with startled eyes but when I quickly took back my hand, his tense face gave way to confusion. "What's wrong?"

"What exactly are you going to show me this time?" I questioned, hesitant to look into the mind of any vampire after what happened with Godric. Of course he and Louie were different as night and day but Godric had had the same calm and nice demeanor and then look what he did. So I was very cautious to jump into Louie's memories without at least questioning what I was to expect. "What am I going to see?"

"Something I've never talked about with anyone..." He answered back, his face darkening considerably as he took my hand again and looked me in the eye without blinking. "I'm going to show what happened when Helen died."

I barely had a chance to gasp before I was suddenly thrust into his head and was traveling back to a time that no one in the modern day could ever hope to see...

_Flashback_

_It was night. The air was heavy with something I could not recognize. There was faint light coming from the fires set up around the village, offering me a chance to look around at the place surrounding me. It was set in the middle of a stretch of plains that seemed to go on forever. Even in this limited light, I could see just how empty and unscathed the horizon was. It was so different from the world I knew and I wanted a moment to look around, to take in the environment of being where so many of my own kind gathered. But I was not allowed that chance as my body was pulled away to a group of people standing by the doorway of a dusty stone building, their faces drawn tightly with sadness as I approached them. There was three of them, a grown man and woman standing with a small boy all of them dressed in white and I could sense that they were the Faeries I was suppose to be seeing, only I didn't understand why. At least not until the figure standing in front of them spoke._

_"How...how did she die?" It was Louie! I couldn't believe I didn't recognize him right away. He looked the same as he did in the present day, only his linen clothing was not modern. And his face was stained with rivers of red, he had been crying and for god only knows for how long. He must have just been told about Helen and these people must have been her family. I was even more shocked by this. He was standing there in the midst of a village full of Faeries as if he too were one of them instead of their natural enemies. But he didn't look like a monster in this moment, he looked like a sad little boy that was practically chocking on his own emotions. "What happened to her?"_

_"Werewolves..." The man, who must have been her father said quietly, his hands gripping the shoulders of the boy standing in front of him as if to keep his own self steady. His body was tense at being near a vampire, but his face showed the agony every parent felt who had lost their child. It made me feel sick to have to stand here and watch this memory. It did not feel right to share in their pain. "She was out in the hills the other night when she was attacked. There was too many of them, she didn't stand a chance. By the time we discovered where she was, she was already fading away from us."_

_"And the body?" Louie couldn't even summon the strength to look at any of them. I could feel every emotion shooting through his body as if it were my own and I wanted so badly to go over there and hug him. But I was an invisible bystander, brought here to only watch the pain of these people. "What did you do with the body?"_

_"She was cremated the night it happened. Her body burned in a circle of stones just outside the village on that hill in the distance. It was the traditional funeral ceremony, she had the best as she completely left this world." The father said, his face trying to remain stoic, but even I could sense the pain he was fighting back. It was a different time, men weren't suppose to display their emotions like this. But he had just lost a daughter, how could he not give in to that pain. He lifted his hand and point into the horizon behind Louie and nodded. "You'll find the spot there, now leave us in peace and don't ever come back here."_

_"I have no reason to remain here now." Louie spoke quietly, his voice so heavy that I wanted to start sobbing on the ground. But he turned on his heels and shot off into the distance and before I could even think to follow him, I was thrown through the air after him. I felt the wind blow back my hair as I flew what only seemed like a short distance away but when I landed roughly on my feet, I saw that I could barely even see the fires of the village. They were nothing more then just specks of light, but it was not this sudden distance that held my attention. It was the sight of Louie falling to his knees beside a spot of blackened earth within a circle of stones that made a gasp escape from my lips that went unheard by him. I could feel the immense wave of despair hitting me as strongly as it seemed to be affecting him as his hands gripped the ground where Helen's body had burned. "Oh my dear sweet love. How could you leave me like this?"_

_I felt my own tears falling faster then I could ever hope to stop them as I was suddenly drawn away from Louie again and sent flying into a tunnel of nothing but black. I was fairly certain that I was on my way out of Louie's mind and away from that terrible memory, but then I was dropped into the middle of a field that was lit up with moonlight and right ahead of me I could see Louie standing in the midst of the grass. But instead of being surrounded by numerous figures, there was only person there with him. One person that I once thought I knew very well..._

_"How could you not be there Godric? How could you?" Louie seemed to be trying to scream this sentiment out loud, but he just couldn't seem to master it. His shoulders were slumped forward, unable to hold himself up properly out of grief as he stared across the field at Godric who look more then horrified at what Louie had just told him. "You were suppose to be watching over her while I was gone. You were suppose to protect her when I couldn't. But you weren't there. Why?"_

_"I didn't know anything could have happened. I did not know werewolves would have attacked her. It wasn't the full moon, I did not see any trouble or harm coming to her if I were to not be there." Godric explained, his face never showing the smallest trace of the monster he had been the last time I saw him in a memory with Louie. He looked very much like a scared little boy as he faced down Louie in the face of his disgrace to his friend. "I thought it would be alright. I didn't think she would have died when I slipped away to hunt..."_

_"Hunt! You didn't protect her because you were too overcome with hunger? If I had known you were going to shirk your duties of protecting her, then I never would have agreed to let you be the one to watch her. I would have done it myself. I never would have gone away to hunt down our maker for you. But I did that because I knew it was too hard for you and you gave me your word that you would do this for me in return. And now...she's dead. Dead because you weren't there. It's your fault." Louie looked up with a barely controlled glare on his pale young face. I had no idea how he was holding back from lashing out at Godric but he was doing it. I wouldn't have blamed him for trying to hurt Godric. After all Godric had been responsible for keeping Helen alive and he had failed. And Louie had lost the love of his life at the hands of his best friend. He could have killed Godric and no one could have judged him. But instead of moving forward to fight him, Louie shook his head and stepped back. "She made me feel human again and she taught me how to love others besides you or even just myself. We were suppose to have more time and it was cut short because of your betrayal. And I will never be able to forgive you for this."_

_"Then hurt me." Godric's voice was serious as he said this, causing my head to whip up in surprise as well as Louie's. "I have failed you. So hurt me so I may feel the pain you feel in addition to my own."_

_For a second Louie looked like he just might take him up on that offer. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, his right foot was raised off the ground as he was prepared to lunge. The look on his face, the one of pure rage and despair said he was ready to kill anything in front of him, especially Godric. But he never made the move to actually do it. In fact, he stepped even further back, his face going stoic and his hands loosening until they just hung limply at his sides as he began shaking his head._

_"No...I will not fight you or wound you in any way. I want to, but I won't do it." Louie's eyes were directed at the ground so he never saw the look of disbelief __pass over Godric's face, "We made a promise to Helen that we would never lash out fatally against one another. And I intend to remain honorable to that promise, even though I would love to make you feel one ounce of the agony I am feeling right now..."_

_"Louie..." Godric went to move after him, but Louie's darkened expression stopped him in his tracks. "Louie please.."_

_"As of this moment, I am breaking our friendship. Our brotherhood has been extinguished and if I never see you again, then that is quite fine with me." Louie stated coldly, his normally glimmering blue/green eyes remaining faint as if the light had been permanently shut out from them. He was backing away more quickly, his face never showing the pain I felt from him. "I would rather walk this earth alone for the remainder of my years then to cross paths with you. Our bond ceases to exist from this moment on. Good bye Godric."_

_And then with a new wave of heaviness coming from him, Louie turned on his heels and flashed away, leaving me to just catch a glimpse of Godric's pained face before I too was taken from that spot..._

_End flashback_

"So you see..." Louie's voice pulled me back into the presence, his hand leaving mine as he sat back in his seat and crossed his ankles. "I understand better then you think."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I was so taken aback by seeing this memory that I couldn't stop apologizing. I had no idea of the extent of Godric's involvement in Helen's death. And in some moments, I had even wondered whether Godric had been the one to end her life. But this was so much worse. Godric had been Helen's friend and former lover. And more importantly, he had been Louie's best friend and vampire brother. And yet he had let his duties slip through his fingers, not by accident, but by choice. His failure had destroyed a friendship, burdened Louie with a sadness he could never escape and resulted in the loss of a life well before her time. I felt such pain for Louie in this moment when I turned to look at him. "I'm sorry he hurt you like that."

"It is what it is. She's dead and he could have stopped it from happening but he didn't. She's just gone and I'm still here, existing without her." Louie said, his eyes getting cloudy as he seemed to feel even more despair from her death now that he was reliving it because of our conversation and the way it had come about. He turned his head to look out the window across the aisle and flexed his feet outward. "I've come to terms with it even though I miss her every day and night of my life."

"Louie, I'm so …."

"Do not say you are sorry, this is not about me. I did not show you that memory to make this about me. It was to make you realize that you are not alone when it comes to dealing with Godric. But I have made a choice on how to deal with him." Louie turned his head to look at me and I got the sense that he was talking to me in a way that he rarely talk to others, so I was listening. "And now you have to come to terms with what he did to you. Don't be like me, don't torment yourself for half your life time. It only makes the pain worse."

"So what are you saying?" I frowned, feeling more confused then ever. At the beginning of this conversation he had been trying to comfort me, but it seemed like he was trying to go in the opposite direction. "Are you telling me to forgive him?"

"No, I'm telling you to do what you have to do for yourself." Louie shrugged, running his fingers through his short blonde hair. "And if you need to let him go, then it's ok to do that."

"I know that's ok, but I'm not sure what to do." I really didn't. On one hand, it would be so easy to just cut Godric out of my life. But then again, up until that night, he and I had been the best of friends and I so desperately wanted that back. But I didn't know if we could overcome that. This time I may not be able to turn back. I glanced up at Louie and sighed. "I don't know what's right anymore."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"Eric...can we please talk about this?"

"There's nothing to talk about...now just do what I tell you to do..."

"How can you possibly stand there and not have anything to say to me after what I did? I'm not looking for forgiveness, I just want you to acknowledge me and not be so cold."

"I said I do not want to talk about."

"Well sometimes its not about what you want...sometimes its about doing something that makes you uncomfortable because it's right. And this is right...we have to talk about it."

"Jesus Christ, will you just shut the fuck up!"

Eric watched through narrowed eyes as Godric's face went slack at his outburst but his maker did not offer up more comments and went quiet as Eric stood there watching him and wishing he could have been anywhere but here. And in actuality, he could have just left chained down here all alone without any kind of interaction. But that wouldn't help anyone and it certainly wouldn't detox him any faster. That was the main thing, he wanted Allison's blood to leave Godric's system so he could kick his maker out of the house and the woman he loved could come home. He still remembered the look on her face when she told him she wanted to leave because she couldn't be here and that had shot right through him. He missed her with an aching that was so painful sometimes that he almost went to the airport to catch a plane to Mystic Falls. But he managed to hold back and focus on trying to help Godric, he didn't want to, but if it would help get Allison home sooner then he would do whatever it took.

And that's what had brought him to the basement with a carton of true bloods in the hopes that it would counter act the intoxication in Allison's blood and at least dilute it enough so that he wouldn't be a danger when he was released. But since he had come down here, Godric had been trying to make nice and strike up a conversation and all Eric could do was snap in return until finally Godric just gave up and accepted the blood when Eric handed it to him. Nothing was said between them as Godric went through bottle after bottle and it was only when there was nothing left that he spoke again.

"Eric, I know you don't want to talk about it. But you have to know how incredibly sorry I am for hurting Allison. I was so caught up in my anger and embarrassment that I couldn't even think straight. I never meant to let it go that far." Godric said quietly, his head hanging low in shame but Eric wasn't convinced that it was sincere. "I didn't think I would react that way to her accidentally seeing that memory..."

"She didn't tell me, you know. I don't know what memory she saw." Eric frowned, wondering why he hadn't pressed her harder to tell him. But she had been so obviously affected deeper then he could understand by this attack and pushing her could have been more devastating. So he was in the dark about what she could know about his maker that he didn't. "She wouldn't tell me, she didn't want anyone else to know. She was protecting you in a way, even after you almost killed her."

"That sounds like her." Godric mumbled, his face still turned downwards, but the guilt that was eating away at him came through their bond, clear as day. "I can't believe I hurt her like that."

"You didn't just hurt her. She was almost murdered, by you!"

"Eric..."

"No, you don't get to make yourself feel better right now. You get to stay down here and think about how you almost took away the only woman I ever loved. I mean, Jesus Christ!You saw her die the first time, you saw what it did to me. How could you react in a way that could have made history repeat itself?" Eric had vowed to not speak of this to his maker, but he couldn't help it once the words had started spewing from his mouth. The flood gates had opened and there was no turning back now. "If she had died again, then I would not be able to survive it. The pain is too great. And seeing you almost kill her, reminded me of what that pain feels like. So thanks a lot."

Godric tried to speak to him, but Eric had enough of this for one night and he just turned his back on his maker and left the basement, making sure to firmly slam the door behind him.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Mystic Falls<span>_

"You're quiet again, that's never a good thing." Louie pointed out to me later that night as we stood inside our hotel after finally landing in a small airport near the town of Mystic Falls and were attempting to get settled before we decided what to do and where to go from here. But he did not seem to like it when I went quiet at all. "Are you nervous?"

"A little bit, but that's not why I'm silent." I replied with a smile, looking up from my suitcase to where he sat in a chair against the wall and shrugged slightly. "I'm more thinking about how grateful I am that you came with me on this trip. There's no way I would have been able to do it alone, Eric wouldn't have let me."

"It's no big deal." Louie began to disagree, shaking his head curtly. "It really isn't..."

"Yes it is, especially right now." I cut in, sitting down on the edge of the bed with my hands in my lap while I looked at this vampire who had somehow become a very important figure in my life. "I needed you to be here and you came through for me. So it is a big deal."

"I still say its not. It's just what friends do." He told me, cracking a small smile my way. "Besides, I'm sure you would do the same for me."

"I would, it would be too hard not to want to help you in anyway." I had to return the smile because I genuinely felt better then I had on the plane ride here. I ran my hands through my hair to get it out of my eyes before asking. "So...are you ready to meet my friends?"

"I think the question is more if you are ready." He shot back at me with his eyebrows raised high. "You're the one with history with these people, not me. It will be tougher for you to see them then it will be for me."

"Ok, I'm not really as ready as I thought I would be, but I don't think in this situation I get to be entirely comfortable." I pressed my lips together as I thought of the awkward reunions that were in my very near future and I shuddered at that thought of how weird it was going to be to just pop up. "I tried to give them a warning through email, because I didn't have any of their numbers anymore. But I never heard back from Elena and she probably thought it was some cruel joke."

"I would think that if I were in her shoes. A person I thought was dead contacting me and saying they really are alive. Yea, I would think it was a falsehood too." Louie chuckled, his eyes and face briefly coming alive for a moment and it made me wish that it would last longer. "You still want to go there tonight?"

"Oh yes, because if I don't do it now then I will come up with a reason not to do it at all." I knew myself all too well. If I put it off until tomorrow night, then during the day I would figure out how to avoid doing it and I didn't want this trip to be a waste. I had to do it, even if it was scary. "I wont see Elena because it is late, but at least I can see Stefan and Damon."

"What are they like?" Louie questioned, a curious expression on his face that made me remember that I had never told him about these two vampires he was going to meet. All he knew was that Stefan and Damon were real brothers turned at the same time. But that was it.

"Well you would definitely get along with Stefan great because you both are so much alike." I grinned at the thought of how excited I was to see these two interact ever since I thought to ask Louie to come along. Stefan was such an old soul, so he would be a great friend to Louie. "Stefan is a complete gentleman, kind of like you. The only difference is your age, Stefan and Damon aren't even 200 years old and well...you are considerably older then that."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Louie rolled his eyes, his head cocked to the side as he laughed. "And Damon? What's he like?"

"Now that is the one you need to watch out for. He's a handful." I had to fight back a fit of giggles since this was going to be the interaction I was most going to be amused by. It wouldn't matter to Damon how old Louie was, he would still be disrespectful if he thought he could get away with it. Kind of like another vampire I knew all too well. "Damon is more an Eric type then he thinks and those two didn't get along. So you should be prepared."

"Oh that's a great warning."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"You know, you have to ring the doorbell for someone to answer it. It won't open magically just because you're staring at it."

"Louie, I say this nicely, but shut up." I grumbled, furrowing my eyebrows at him as we both continued to stare at the door like we had for the past two minutes. We had left the hotel not long after I had told him about the Salvatores and the entire car ride to the house had been spent in near silence except for me giving him directions. He didn't trust me to drive since my mind was so clearly elsewhere and when he pulled into the driveway, my heart nearly leaped into my throat as I was sure the door would come tearing open at the sound of the engine, but no one appeared. The lights were on, so I was certain they were home, but Louie had to physically pull me out of the car in order to get here to the front porch but now that we were here, I found I couldn't actually make that first move. I looked up at Louie and whispered. "You do it, I can't."

"It's going to be ok, you just have to relax." Louie reminded me for what seemed like the millionth time that night already as he reached past me and punched the door bell with one finger. He stood just behind me and squeezed my shoulder with ease. "These people are your friends, right? So just remember that and it will be fine."

"Says the vampire who doesn't have to do anything..."I began to say, but I was suddenly very cut off by the door opening and by the very audible gasp coming from the dark eyed vampire now standing in the doorway in front of me. I felt my jaw quiver slightly as my eyes landed on the more gentle Salvatore brother. "Stefan..."

"This is an illusion, it cannot possibly be real." Stefan snapped, I wasn't even touching him and I could hear his thoughts screaming at me that this was a very mean joke and he wasn't going to be tricked into believing it. So when he suddenly slammed the door in my face, I wasn't totally surprised that was his reaction right off the bat. I turned my head again to catch Louie's eye and he looked almost amused by this. I could see why, a vampire he didn't know had just reacted in a very human way, so it him it was amusing. But I didn't have time for anything comical, I came here to talk to my friends and I was going to do that. I was on the verge of reaching for the bell when the door opened again and there was Stefan, looking like he would have been out of breath had he needed it. "Is it really you Allison? We saw you in your coffin, we saw you being lowered into the ground. How is possible that you're standing here?"

"It's not an illusion, I'm the real thing." I don't know why, but I almost chocked up on my words as I was looking at him for the first time in months. "This is not a joke. I am honest to God, truly alive."

"How?" Stefan's hand were frozen in mid air as he looked like he had been thinking about reaching out to touch me but had decided against it. "You were dead, you had no heartbeat. But you're here..."

"All thanks to magic my friend." I said, moving forward to hug him, my arms wrapping around him before he could step back and once we were touching, he gasped again.

"Dear God, you are real." Stefan's arms immediately raised to embrace me back, tugging me closer to him as if he were afraid I would slip away again any second. "I thought it was some kind of cruel spell."

"I'm very much alive and I promise I will explain everything. And trust me when I say there is a lot to talk about." I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep from crying. I felt so completely overwhelmed to be back in the arms of someone I had cared about a lot when I was here and had just been reunited with for the first time since my death. I couldn't believe I had waited this long to come see him. It was crazy. I noticed Louie still standing still off to the side and I broke away from Stefan to acknowledge him. "Uh Stefan, I should really tell you who this is..."

"I'm Louie." The older vampire cut in, sending me a sly smile like he knew this was weird for me and he extended his hand like I knew he would. "Nice to meet you Stefan."

"You know about me? He knows about me?" Stefan's eyebrows hitched up so quickly that I started giggling before he looked at me. "Were you nice?"

"I'm always nice."

"That's true...most of the time." Stefan nodded with a sincere smile, stepping to the side and waving us both in to the front hall before he shut the door and came to stand in front of us with his hands clasped to his hips. "So how exactly do you guys know each other."

"He uh...use to know Godric." I had to chose my words carefully or else there would be a flood of tears that I very much would like to try and avoid. It as one thing to cry about seeing Stefan again and it was worse to cry over thinking about anything to do with my former best friend. I quickly plastered a smile on my face and looked around curiously. "So where's Damon?"

"Oh...he's off somewhere, probably doing something he shouldn't be doing.." Stefan rolled his eyes as did since that was so like Damon to not behave himself in any capacity. Stefan motioned us into the living room before asking. "So you have to explain how this is all possible. My mind is just so running rampant right now."

"I'll wait to explain everything until we're all together. It will be easier that way." I told him as Louie and I sat together on one end of one of the couches while Stefan remained on his feet with his arms crossed. "Maybe tomorrow, we can get Elena here and..."

"Oh damn, I should call her right now and get her over here."

"No don't do that. It's late, way too late to make her come over." I shook my head at Stefan but he was already moving to make his way out of the room to make that call. "Come on Stefan, don't wake her up..."

"No, I insist." Stefan waved his hand in my direction and smirked happily. "Trust me, she will want to be woken up for this."

Then he vanished from the room, leaving Louie and I to look at each other with similar smiles as we listened to Stefan trip across the floor outside the room on his way to the stairs to find his phone. Louie leaned towards me once Stefan was upstairs and said something that made me smile.

"You know what? I like this Stefan guy." Louie nodded in almost surprised approval, like he didn't think he would have had a good opinion of anyone he met tonight but he seemed to be ok with Stefan. "He seems more in touch with his humanity then most vampires."

"That's the beauty of Stefan. He sometimes forgets that he's a vampire so when he gets happy, he acts more human. Its actually very sweet." My grin got bigger as I thought about how different Stefan was from most vamps, he was kind and gentle and loyal. Sort of like how Godric use to seem to me and definitely how I saw Louie now. "But Damon on the other hand is another story entirely. He loves being a vampire a little too much."

"And I suppose that is where I find the most trouble tonight."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"Oh my god, where the hell is she? I'm going to kill her!"

I barely had enough time between fighting back a smile and getting to my feet after the front door crashed open before Elena appeared in the doorway of the living room and came to a skidding stop as she took in the sight of me. She was quicker to believe it, maybe because Stefan had woken her up with this bizarre news and he wouldn't have done that it it wasn't true. So when she started walking towards me, that seemed to be enough to set off a crying fit that for once did not start with me. She reached me and within seconds, she had tightly embraced me much like Stefan had done upon seeing me. As soon as we touched, I could hear her thoughts racing inside of my own head and I had to fight back against that because I didn't want to invade her privacy, but she was crying so hard out of happiness that I doubted she would have cared had I done it willingly. And hearing her cry, made my own tears start to well up.

"Does she always do this at reunions? Or is it a new development?" Louie said quietly to Stefan as the two of them moved closer to one another to speak in hushed tones but I could still hear every word. "She cries an awful lot."

"First off, she's a girl. It's like mandatory for them to break into tears whenever something like this happens." Stefan was probably rolling his eyes but I didn't pay attention. "And she's Allison. That makes it even worse."

I was going to tell them to both shut up but the front door opened again and the sight of a new figure pulled me away from Elena and sent me into silence as it did to the rest of them as this new arrival was clothed in all black and was now leaning against the doorway with not a hint of disbelief on his face. Damon Salvatore was as unchanged as any vampire was as he took no notice of the others and strolled forward with his eyes on me.

"So for once, my brother actually had one over on me when he called." Damon frowned slightly, obviously not liking that Stefan had been telling the truth, but it soon gave way to a triumphant smile. "And I have to say that is the best looking ghost I have ever seen."

"You have not changed in the slightest." I rolled my eyes, feeling like it was just like old times before any of this happened as I shook my head at him. "And I'm not a ghost, I'm very much real."

"Yes you are." Damon stated with a devious wink before he too took me in his arms for a hug and despite how he looked just seconds ago, I could feel the surprise in his body when he touched me. He didn't show it though when he pulled back and said in typical Damon fashion. "You feel the same as you ever did."

"Damon!" I exclaimed, stepping back with my mouth hanging open as he was unfazed by this and just stuck his hands in his pockets right before I saw his eyes dart across the room to where Louie was sitting with Stefan and I watched as his eyes narrowed.

"Well, looks like you brought a gentleman caller with you..." Damon's lips curled up as he looked at Louie in disgust as I foresaw that he would. Damon was highly threatened by any vampire around me even though there was nothing left between us. Still, I saw the flames of jealousy rise up in his eyes as he looked at this much older and insanely gorgeous vampire in his living room and snorted. "What is with you and blonde vampires?"

"I happen to be her friend thank you very much. And I would advise you to be on my good side. Because if you disrespect me or her, I will rip you in half without even blinking. I'm 2000 years old, I can do that with one hand." Louie's eyes got darker as he was pulled into this cloud of testosterone driven want for power. They both felt the obvious need to prove themselves to each other since they had one thing in common and that was me. "Are we clear?"

"Says the old man vampire." Damon was not at all intimidated by Louie and I doubt any one could knock the darker haired vamp down a few pegs. But I wasn't going to stand by and wait to see if Louie would press it further.

"Ok, ok. You both need to cool it and relax. I want us all to be on the same page the first time I am back here in months and not just that, for the first time since I was brought back to life. The last thing I need is you two bitch fighting like girls." I said sternly to the both of them even though neither looked like they were even listening to me. "So both of you behave and shut up."

"Now that sounds like the old Allison." Elena pointed out with the brightest grin I had ever seen on her face as she reached out and hugged me again. "I still can't believe you are here."

"You're not the only one." I said with a sigh, squeezing her tightly. "And now that we're all here, it seems like a good time to explain myself."

* * *

><p><em><span>1 hour later<span>_

1 hour...60 minutes...3600 seconds.

That's how long it had been since I had finished speaking and the entire group had fallen into a heavy silence that seemed as infinite as my story had been. I looked around at their faces right now as I had done when I was talking and I saw the same expressions there that had been present when they reacted to each bit of news that came tumbling out of their mouths. Stefan and Elena sat huddled together, Stefan was staring straight ahead with his dark eyes wide and his mouth not uttering a word while Elena sat with her shoulders shaking from the soft whimpers that came between sobs. Louie sat at my side, occasionally sending me a gentle look that said I had done the right thing by telling them all that had happened to me, but he was just as quiet as the others. Even Damon was silent for once, sitting in an armchair with a tight lipped frown on his face that would have burned a hole through the floor if he had that ability. They were all so stunned, so taken aback that not one of us had the nerve to break the silence that had lasted for almost over an hour. And it almost made me regret telling them. It was one thing for me to go through it, but it was just cruel of me to put this all on them.

I held nothing back, I had told them absolutely everything that had occurred since I was last alive in their presence and it was only when I was saying it out loud that I realized just how much I had survived. I told them about the moment when I first woke up in my coffin and my panic at realizing what had happened. I described the agonizing process of having to break through the wood and dig out of my own grave, feeling chocked up as I recounted that to them. I told them about meeting my birth mother and finding out how she had been the one responsible for doing the resurrection and accidentally leaving me in the ground. I explained how this whole outcome had been put into play long before the battle when Molly had been trying to take down the Dallas coven before and only stuck around pretending to be on their side when she found out they were targeting me. I told them how Molly was a half Faerie and how she had practiced witchcraft and that was how she was able to perform my resurrection and how it was because of her that I too had more magic in my blood then I originally thought. I even told them about how I had a little sister and how I was slowly starting to get to know my birth mother. I left out the part about Godric and the real reason I had come here, not wanting to divulge the truth about why I had run off. And it was after this that the silence had begun and lasted a long agonizing 60 minutes before it was Elena who was brave enough to speak up.

"I...uh...um..." Elena was struggling to find the words to convey what was going on in her head but when she looked up and met my eyes, I already knew what she was going to say. She wanted to say she was sorry for what had happened to me, she was practically crying inside her mind as we stared at each other. I shook my head at her, not wanting her to have to force herself to get those words out, I already knew what she meant. But still she felt the need to say something to me, needing an understanding. "Is uh...is all this what led you to come here?"

"No..." I felt my face tightened, getting flushed as it always did when I was on the verge of crying. I felt a strangled sob take a hold of my throat at that very second, rendering me silent as the vampires in the room shifted uncomfortably. I felt a single tear slip down my cheek before I said. "It's not reason I really came here. Something happened that I didn't tell you about."

"Like what?" Stefan asked quietly, taking Elena's hand as he spoke as she gravitated towards him for comfort. "What else could have possibly happened to you?"

"And can you explain it without crying?" Damon spoke up seriously, looking at me with the most unease. He like Eric, had never been very good with seeing me cry and when I did it around him, he got seriously disturbed. "I can't take your tears. You know that."

"Damon, shut up." Elena hissed, sending a glare at him before turning her face towards me and nodded. "Go ahead, tell us what happened."

"Um, you see when I was brought back to life by magic, I still had a connection to death. And the first time I had vampire blood since I was resurrected, it made that bond to death stronger and it gave me a new ability that I never thought was possible." I explained, clasping my hands to my knees as I was faced with the task of having to convince not only a human, but two more vampires that I could do the impossible. I didn't want to beat around the bush, so I just said it in the most obvious way. "I can read vampire minds."

"Uh, yea...right. That's a good one." Damon started laughing after I told them this, reacting in the exact way I thought he would so I wasn't surprised when he was looking at me like I was crazy. I was use to that. "You have got to be out of your damn mind. You can't read our minds, no one can. It's impossible."

"No it's not. I've experienced it for myself and as impossible as it may seem, it is very true." Louie shot back at him, jumping to my defense immediately if only for another opportunity to get under Damon's skin. "She's telling the truth, she really can read our minds if we let her."

"But it's never been done before. It...just...can't be true." Stefan was shaking his head rapidly, almost like he was trying to convince himself more then anyone else. But when he looked at me, I could see in his eyes that he believed it. "It was suppose to be..."

"Prove it." Damon interrupted his brother's tirade with a determined look in his eyes as he crossed his arms. "If what you're saying is really true, then prove it."

"Fine." I snapped, feeling a flash of frustration go through me as I settled my eyes on Damon's face. I knew I couldn't blame him for not believing me right off the bat. I was telling him the one thing that all vampires thought had been off limits to everyone. That their thoughts couldn't be read by any being, not even one of their own. And here I was going against a truth that had stood the test of time since the first vampire had roamed the earth. But I couldn't pretend like it wasn't true. I knew what I could do and I had to convince them of it too...

_"She's crazy, she can't really read my mind. It's impossible. But her trying to be so convincing about it is kind of hot..."_

"...it's impossible. But her trying to be so convincing about it is kind of hot." I repeated Damon's thoughts right on back to him without stumbling over any part of it. I watched as his face went blank, as if the blood had been drained from him and he actually moved back in his chair out of shock as he settled down with his mouth hanging open. I could only shrug and say. "I told you I was right."

"Holy fuck." Damon replied as loudly as if I had just told him I could turn him human again. He looked at Stefan and Elena who were wearing identical expressions of disbelief but even though they couldn't say anything, I could see that they too knew this was the truth. Damon wouldn't have reacted this way if he of all people hadn't believed it. He actually leaned forward, his face lighting up with curiosity before he asked. "So that's why you came here? Because you were worried about us hearing it from someone else?"

"No, I came here here because I saw something I wasn't suppose to see. I was alone at my house with Godric the other night and I was trying to get his attention but he was lost in his thoughts. So I grabbed his shoulder and the contact brought me into his head accidentally and I saw a memory that was more personal then I could have imagined. And he did not react well." I frowned harshly, turning my eyes down to the carpet so I wouldn't have to look at the three faces staring at me as I explained this. Louie already knew about it obviously, so he sat at my side silently and didn't look at me since he knew the burden of having an extra set of eyes on me. "Um...he was angry and he lashed out at me. He didn't seem to know what he was doing, but he did attack me. He bit me and drank my blood to the point where he almost killed me..."

"What the fuck?" Damon's hands gripped the edges of his seat as he looked like he wanted to rise up. "Godric hurt you? I'll kill him..."

"Damon, not now." Stefan snapped, but his voice didn't sound as harsh as it should have been. Instead he just sounded tired. "How did you survive that?"

"Eric showed up and threw Godric away from me, he somehow managed to get him out of the house before he was able to give me his blood. Luckily he got there right in the nick of time." I shuddered at the thought of how I felt just the other night when I thought I was going to be meeting death for the second time. It gave me chills as I could remember every single detail about those painful few minutes and it almost made me sick. I had to get away from it. "So I was fine, but Godric wasn't. You know how intoxicating Fae blood is, and mine is pure. So Godric had to be caught and Eric chained him in silver in our basement so he couldn't hurt anyone else while my blood left his system. I just didn't want to be there while he was detoxing..."

"So you left and came here." Elena finished for me, her warm brown eyes filling up with tears as she clutched Stefan's hand. "I don't blame you in the slightest."

"I just couldn't be around him after that, it was too hard." I sniffled, quickly wiping my face to hide any tears that may have fallen. I hated that I was this close to falling apart over Godric again. I hated that he had put me in this position. He was my best friend, he should have been the least likeliest of people to ever attack me. But I guess people can still surprise you. "I needed to get away but Eric didn't want me traveling alone. So I called Louie and explained what happened and he agreed to come with me for a few days and now here we are."

"I so want to kill Godric right now." Damon growled, sounding ferocious like some kind of wild animal but underneath it, I could see it was coming from a place of protectiveness. He looked at me and asked completely seriously. "Can I stake him?"

"Damon, don't be an asshole." Louie stated, narrowing his eyes at the much younger vampire and smirked. "Godric is 2,000 years old. If anyone would get staked in that showdown, then it would be you. So actually, you should go ahead and try it."

"Fuck off old man, you're getting on my nerves." Damon's hand clenched the arms of the chair even more tightly so that the sound of splintering wood could be heard. "Maybe you should take one of those iron pokers over there and shove it..."

"Enough! I don't want to hear any of this shit." I snapped, lifting my head up from staring at my feet once I had regained my composure and sent both Louie and Damon a look to cease this near fight before it could begin to escalate. "Quick, someone say something else to change the subject."

"Uh ok. You know that phone call Stefan and Damon got before the battle a few months ago? The one from me that said the town was in trouble and I was scared for my life and that they needed to come home?" Elena piped up, her face clearing itself of any possible tears as she took control of the conversation and turned it to some thing I hadn't even thought about in months. She set her eyes on my face when I began to feel confused and said with a grimace. "Yea, that was all a lie. That phone call was a fake. There was never any danger to the town or me. It was a complete fabrication on the part of those witches."

"Are you serious?" Well that certainly changed the mood in the room, but none more then me as I suddenly went from being near tears to wanting to throw something across the room. "They faked that call?"

"Oh yea, big time. They somehow were able to replicate my voice and get in touch with Stefan and Damon to make it sound like there was trouble back home and they needed to leave right away to protect me. But of course there was nothing wrong and it was only when the three of us were together and put everything on the table that we realized it was done to draw them out of Shreveport. Damon and Stefan may be young vampires, but they are still vampires and could have easily killed some of those witches. So they had to be drawn away from the battle in the easiest way imaginable, and that was by making it seem like my life was in danger."

"Oh my god, I fucking hate witches!" I was surprised that my voice came out only mildly agitated because inside I was fuming. I was furious. No I was beyond furious, I was absolutely livid. I knew these witches were cunning and evil, but to see the depths they had lowered themselves to was maddening. If they hadn't sent Stefan and Damon home then maybe the battle wouldn't have ended the way it had. Perhaps I wouldn't have died and then brought back with this more then rare ability. An ability that stole a very cherished friendship away from me because of how deep I could see into a vampire's mind. None of this would have happened had it not been for those witches. I slammed my closed fist on the couch and snapped. "I want to kill them all right now. They say the world needs to be rid of vampires, well I say it needs to be rid of witches."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your birth mother was a witch and she brought you back. Not to mention that you have also said you have witch blood in you. So if want to kill all witches, then you would also be killing yourself." Damon pointed out smugly as if he thought he had made some great statement that I should be thanking him for. But instead I was beginning to crack a smile and that seemed to be the reaction he wanted. "Am I right or am I right?"

"You're just an asshole." I grumbled, looking at is smirking face with a shake of my head. "Ok, you may be right. Not all witches are bad. After all, one did bring me back from the dead and that alone should change my opinion of them."

"It does for me." Elena nodded in agreement, her voice getting heavy and I knew she wasn't going to be far off from crying again. So I got up as quickly as my feet would allow me and met her halfway across the room as we embraced each other tightly. I could feel her chin shaking against my shoulder as she said. "I'm so glad you came back."

"I'm glad to be back too. I wasn't finished with this life yet." I said back, squeezing my eyes shut so I wouldn't end up the same way she was. But it was no use, I felt the tears slipping down my cheeks just as I heard a disgruntled groan coming from the side of us as both Stefan and Damon came up and joined us in our hug. I could hear Damon grumbling under his breath and I looked up to catch his blue eyes and said through my watery vision. "Shut up."

"What? All I said I was that you guys cry too much." Damon shot back defensively even though I could see the smallest hint of a smile on his lips that said he wasn't about to let this situation overwhelm us even though he hated getting emotional. So he was using his own approach to it by making fun of us. "You take these things way too personally."

"Only when I'm around you." I tried to sound annoyed but I wasn't. Damon was infuriating but he meant well most of the time and just did things in his own way. So when I hugged him back, I could read his mind just as he was thinking that even though I didn't want him in the same way he wanted me, he still wasn't prepared to stand by and let me be hurt by anyone, including Godric. It was that statement that almost kept my attention on our little group and not have it drawn away by anything. Almost but not quite.

Because I was just able to make out Louie's moving form just as he reached the back door and slipped outside without saying a word to any of us.

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

_"I'm so glad you came back..."_

It was this statement from Elena to Allison that had sent Louie out the door to stand on the dark porch alone and stare up at the sky that was lit up with glittering stars and think about the happiness being contained inside the house behind him. A moment that he wasn't part of.

It wasn't that he didn't want to share in the moment, it was more that he didn't feel like he belonged there with them. Those 4 had a history together that did not include him in the slightest and it would have felt intrusive to stand there with them and pretend like he was apart of it. He wasn't part of this group and it would be ridiculous to pretend like he was. He was merely an outsider observing the way vampires and humans interacted when they formed friendships, that was all. Sure Allison had asked him to come along and he may have begun to form a bond with the younger vampire Stefan, but that didn't mean anything. He was just the odd one out and he had been like that for the past 1000 years, isolating himself to the point where he was never entirely sure how to interact with other people or even vampires anymore. That's just how he was and for a while, it had never bothered him as he did not want to get close to anyone. Sure he had Allison in his life now, but their friendship wasn't rooted in years or memories. Maybe one day it would be but right now it was new and he was still working at finding a comfortable way to interact, even with her. After a thousand years of being just with himself and not even creating a progeny, he found it hard to be around other beings. It was a hard habit to break and even though he had willingly agreed to come here, he still found it difficult to interact with the others, even though he got along with them. Well, most of them. It put him on edge to have to be social, it just wasn't in the cards for him. Maybe it would one day, but right now, he was just going to suck it up and make it through this trip for Allison's sake. She wanted to, no she needed to be here with her friends and he wasn't going to cause problems for her. She was growing on him, slowly but surely.

_"I'm glad to be back too."_

Louie smiled to himself as he saw again the expression that had been on Allison's face when she said that. She was happier then she had been when they left to come here and it was nice to see that change happening right in front of him. She had been so withdrawn after what happened with Godric and after dealing something like that, even he had been unsure that she could come back from it. After all it had been her best friend who had attacked her and nearly killed her, no one would have blamed her for not being herself. But then a miracle had occurred, and the moment she was back with these old friends, she was her old self again and she was happy. It was great that she had so many people who cared about her. Stefan and Elena were so compassionate towards her and even that asshole Damon cared in his own way. They were all friends and even in the limited time he knew all of them, he could see the ties between them and it was obvious that no one would betray the others no matter what the circumstances. Their relationships to each other were strong and anyone could see that. It was so incredible to see.

But it also saddened him and that was the main reason he had slipped out of the house and was standing here in the dark all by himself. It was a little too much to take to see those bonds of friendship and he had to get away from it. It just reminded him too much of what he use to have a thousand years ago, back in a time when he had both Godric and Helen. It was a time that even though Helen had chosen him, she still loved Godric and still wanted him to be with them so they could all be their own family. The three of them had a bond much like Allison had with the Salvatores, that tight friendship that would last forever if they worked at it. He and Godric may not have been biological brothers, but they shared a friendship before they were turned at the same time by the same maker. So in a way they were very much like vampire brothers. And Helen loved them both, even after she picked him in the end. She would still make it known that Godric meant a lot to her and she didn't want to part from him. They were all suppose to be together longer then they had been, they were suppose to have more time. And instead, things had been cut short and she had died before her time. And his friendship with Godric had been ruined beyond repair. A thousand years and he still carried the pain of that time with him and he feared it was a pain he would never lose. He would always have it, just like he would always have loneliness as his only companion...

_Flashback_

_"Why do you look so far away from me?" Louie turned his eyes away from the black night sky with it's twinkling stars above him and turned his attention to the heavenly looking blonde at his side whose face was still directed upward with a distant look in her eyes. He reached over and stroked his fingers across her soft skin that glowed warm under his touch. "Are you worried about the future again?"_

_"No, I stopped fearing the future a long time ago. It's not what occupies my mind right now." Helen told him, turned her head to the side to look at him in the light from the small fire that had been set only a few feet away. Her blonde wavy locks were spread out around her head, making her seem even more angelic then usual. Her green eyes caught his and there was a haze in them, dimming the normal sparkle he had come to love. She moved closer to him,not shuddering in the least at the cold contact of his ice skin on hers as she ran her hand across his bare chest and said. "I was contemplating our lives together, our long lives. It amazes me still to think that the Fae can live longer humans can. And yet we are not truly immortal as you are."_

_"No, not even the Fae can live that long. But as you said, you have more time then most beings and that means more time at my side." Louie couldn't help but smile at her in that moment. Had she been merely human, then he would have shied away from getting close to her since she wouldn't have been able to live past a certain age. But she was part Faerie, and she would be with him longer and it was that possible time together that drew him to her even more. But another glance at her face told him that she was not as elated with this thought as he was and it made him frown. "What troubles you?"_

_"I have just been wondering about the future and I know there will come a time when we will part from this life together, our life together. And I would like for you to be prepared for that." Helen explained, moving her covered body so it partially covered him before she sighed heavily, the motion he could feel through her chest. She was sad, he could feel it even though he didn't have a blood bond to her. She ran her fingers over his face before saying. "When I do leave you...when my life comes to its natural end, I don't want you to mourn me. I want you to move on and find happiness in someone else."_

_"Do not speak of such things." Louie found himself frowning up at her, his fingers going to her lips to silence her from saying anything more about it. It sent a dart of pain through the spot where his heart should have been beating when he thought of life without Helen. It was unfathomable. "Why would you say that to me?"_

_"Because you need to understand you will not have forever with me. I want you to always be happy and I want to be the one who makes you feel that forever. But I'm a Faerie, I may live many years longer then humans but I will eventually die. I can't live forever..." Helen looked down after she said this, breaking their gaze as she did not speak any more of that inevitable moment. Her fingers stroked his jaw, touching him lightly before she spoke again in a chocked tone. "And I don't want you to be alone."_

_"That won't happen for a while, so we don't need to worry about it. And when it does happen, I promise you I won't be alone. I will have my brother with me." Louie smiled fondly as he thought of his slightly troubled but always loyal best friend. Godric had his faults, but deep down in the depths of his crippled soul, he always meant well by Louie. And Louie knew that when Helen did pass on, Godric would be there to mourn with him. But until that happened, he refused to think of it. He reached up to her face and held her delicate features in between his hands. "We don't have to think about it now...But I will be happy with whatever time I have with you."_

_"Promise me you won't hurt over me forever." She whispered, her warm breath floating over his face as she looked deep into his eyes. "Promise me you will move on and love another as you have loved me."_

_"There will never be another that compares to you. Even if I live a dozen millenniums, I won't love anyone like I love you." He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth and he couldn't pretend to believe in a falsehood just to make her happy. "But I will promise to try and find peace after you. I will try and find happiness."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Yes. I promise."_

_End flashback_

But he hadn't done it. He hadn't kept his promise to her to move on after her death. He had remained like he had the night he found out she had been killed, numb and empty and unable to see straight. It was a wonder he had kept his sanity long enough to move through these years and not meet the true death. But that would have been too easy and that really would have been a disgrace to Helen's memory if he had killed himself just to see her again. It's not like he hadn't thought about it over the years and there were even a few times when he had nearly done it. But then he would feel a flash of guilt at what Helen would have thought of his actions had she still been alive and he never could go through with it. He remained alone, wandering through his life with no one and being tortured by his memories of his all too short time with Helen. It wasn't suppose to be like this, they were suppose to have more time. But life had thrown a very cruel twist and now a thousand years had passed and he still was just as lonely as ever. He still laid awake, even at dawn and wished she was still with him but that only further served to make that dagger in his chest twist even tighter...

"Louie? Are you ok?" Allison's voice came out of the darkness behind him and he turned his head to find her stepping out on to the porch with a concerned expression on her face. "I thought you would come back in but it has been over 20 minutes and I was getting worried."

"I'm fine. I was just contemplating some things and I needed a moment by myself." He explained, watching out of the corner of his eye as she stepped to the side and then came to stand in front of him with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised in doubt like she didn't quite believe him. He almost laughed at her in that moment. "What?"

"I just...I get this feeling that you were feeling sad not all that long ago." She pressed her lips together tightly and sighed heavily, reminding him a little of Helen in the way she reacted to him. "So I don't just think you were contemplating just nothing."

"You may be right about that, but I don't think I feel like talking about it. It's one thing to hear it in my own head, its another thing to have it voiced out loud." Louie knew that one day he would have to talk about Helen in real depth or else he would never find the peace that he had promised her. But that day was not tonight. Tonight, he would keep Helen in his own head for now until he was more ready to speak of the pain he still carried. He looked at Allison's young face and offered her a smile. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"I still worry about you. I feel like you'll be in my life for a long time and I can't help but feel attached to you already." She admitted with a shrug, tucking her dark hair back with a smile of her own. "And I just know from my limited knowledge of your life that you were not quite in a good place tonight."

"Maybe you imagined it."

"Maybe I didn't." Allison's lips twisted up into a smirk, giving her young face a brightness even in the darkness of the night. She set her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows even higher. "Maybe I'm right."

"Since I am your elder, I will let you keep on thinking that..."

* * *

><p><em><span>45 minutes later<span>_

"Do you seriously have to leave right now? It's too early for you to go."

"Elena! It's almost 3 in the morning and I've had a very long night. I need to get some sleep." I was trying to sound stern but I ended up cracking a smile at my old friend as Louie and I stood by the door preparing to leave. After he and I had come back inside, we had all settled down for drinks and to catch more on what had been going on in Mystic Falls since I was last here. But eventually I had caught sight of the clock and was spurred to get to my feet and head to the door, telling the others the night was over and Louie and I had to leave. Of course Elena being the person she was, wouldn't let me go without first begging me to stay just a little bit longer. I almost caved because I could see it through her perspective that if she had been the one to be resurrected and show up on my doorstep then I wouldn't want her to leave at all. But it wasn't like this would be the last time we saw each other and that's what I would tell her. "I told you I would be here for a few days and obviously we will spend time together. All of us. So stop acting like I'm going home right now."

"I just feel like I walked in the door and saw you only a few minutes ago, but its been hours. It's all just so fresh." Elena shook her head and stared at me intently as if still trying to decide whether this was real or just some really weird dream. She broke into a smile though which filled me with relief. "But you're right, it has been a long night and we will see each other again soon. So I will very reluctantly let you leave."

"But I won't." Damon's taunting voice spoke up from the back of the group and we all turned to see him standing there with his arms crossed and that typical smirk on his lips that had been present almost all night. I could visibly feel Louie tensing up beside me and I readied myself in case I needed to react. Damon strolled forward, eying both Louie and I but his tone was directed at me. "Come on, you can stay a little longer. We just got that hot ass of yours back in our sight and there is no way we are letting it go just yet."

"Oh Jesus..." Stefan slapped himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand at his brother's statement. "Damon must you?"

"Yea, do you have to be so damn inappropriate all the time?" Elena asked, rolling her eyes and stepping in front of me to block me from Damon and to potentially be a road block in case Louie decided to lunge at Damon like he looked like he wanted to. Elena eyed him quickly before turning to face me again and nodded towards the door. "You two better go now while things are calm and before Damon makes another shameless pass at you."

"You know you love it." Damon retorted with his eyebrows raised as Louie took me by the arm and pulled me out the door while Stefan and Elena stood and waved goodbye to us as we headed over to the car. Damon of course, could not be contained and had to make one last jarring statement. "Hey hot stuff, next time you come by, leave old man river at home!"

"Damon!" Both Stefan and Elena yelled out as Louie and I climbed into the car and started driving off.

_5 minutes later_

"I...cannot...stand...him!" Louie growled through gritted teeth as his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as he wound the rental car through the quiet, empty streets of Mystic Falls and fought like hell to control his temper. All of which I could tell without even reading his mind. It was written all over his face.

"Ok, maybe it was a mistake to allow you to be the one to drive back to the hotel." I said lightly, trying to ease the tension in the car as Louie looked more unhinged and angry then I had ever seen him before. It was obvious that Damon rubbed him the wrong way and I had a feeling that this wasn't just a one time thing, they would most likely continue to butt heads the whole time we were here. And that made me uneasy as I turned my head to look at him. "Uh Louie? Can you calm down a little bit? You're starting to scare me."

"I'm sorry but that moron you call your friend is so infuriating." Louie hissed, his knuckles tightening again on the wheel but I felt a decrease in the speed as he slowed down and my heart beat returned to a more normal pace then it had been just minutes ago. Louie was frowning straight ahead as if he was picturing Damon on the hood of the car, but when he opened his mouth to speak, his tone was softer. "I apologize, I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm 2000 years old, I should have a better hold on my temper."

"You do have patience, more then any other vampire I have met. But then again, you met Damon Salvatore tonight. And Damon can pretty much get under the skin of anyone he meets." I tried to keep my voice neutral, but I was on the verge of laughing. I didn't want to hurt Louie's feeling, but the sight of a vampire his age getting so irked by Damon was just so extremely comical to me. But I had to keep it to myself as I reached over and patted Louie on the arm. "Don't worry, he's not all bad. You just have to learn how to handle him."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Louie wanted to know, taking his eyes off the road briefly to look at me with doubt written all over his face. "Befriend him and take him to a bar for drinks?"

"No, that's ridiculous. Damon doesn't drink with other vampires, except maybe Stefan. Damon doesn't exactly like to be social when there is blood involved." I pointed out, running my hands through my hair as I fought back a yawn. "But you could take him to a strip club. He would be your best friend if you did that."

"And then perhaps he will stop referring to me as the old man vampire. That gets annoying really quickly." Louie's tone went hard again but he kept his composure when it came to driving, which I was more then happy about. He glanced over at me and very reluctantly asked. "Do you think he's right when he insinuates that I'm too old to be hanging around you?"

"Damon is an asshole most of the time, so do not let what he says bother you. You are my friend, so its my opinion that matters, not his." I sent a smile through the dark at Louie, hoping he could sense that I was being genuine because I was. Damon wasn't a bad person, but he never acted the right way in front of other people and even I could admit that. But this wasn't about Damon, this was about Louie. "And I just so happen to think that you're pretty great. It doesn't matter how old you are, the age thing never mattered when it came to my relationships with people. I mean look at Eric, he's not a young vampire. And Godric...well..."

"Yea, I know what you mean." Louie cut me off because I think he too felt uncomfortable talking about Godric so I was glad when he interrupted me and took control of the situation. He had just turned into the parking lot of the hotel when he said with an almost bemused smile. "I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting trip all around. Both good and bad."

"You know what? I think you're right."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes earlier<span>_

As the dark car drove down the driveway and away from the house, two pairs of eyes watched the departure from their spot in the tree line surrounding the Salvatore house and stepped back into the darkness of the woods once the vehicle disappeared entirely from their view. The two vampires stood there in the safety of the forest, not saying a word and just allowing the sounds of the very early morning to wash over them until the taller immortal felt the need to break the silence.

"We must leave." He told the female vampire at his side, turning his eyes on her and seeing the way she still looked after the car almost as if she could still see it in her line of vision. There was a blankness on her face, an expression that he could not decipher despite their years together and that made him extremely uneasy. He knew what she was like when she got like this and it was best to pull her away now before it got too deep. "It's time to go. We came here to lay our eyes on Louie, but now we need to run before we are spotted."

"You are right. We did what we came here to do and now we must disappear again as if we are nothing more then phantoms." The female sighed, her dazzling blonde hair being blown back by the chilly wind that whipped through the trees but it did not faze her. Still, she stayed rooted to the spot, not looking like she had any intention of leaving. But a minute later, her eyes left the road and turned to look up at him as she nodded. She barely acknowledged his presence besides taking his arm when he offered it to her as they began making their way deeper into the forest. Her eyes were staring straight ahead when she spoke again in a near whisper. "I shouldn't have come."

"I've been thinking the same thing all these years. And I don't understand it at all." He said calmly in response, keeping his grip on her even though she didn't need it but it was out of respect. "You can't keep hurting yourself like this anymore. It's torture for you."

"I know." Her voice was as soft and gentle as a spring wind, but underneath the sweetness lay an overwhelming sense of sadness that had been apart of her as long as they had known one another. Her delicate hands gripped his arm as they walked together. "It's just hard to leave, that's all."

"You have to make a choice. You've been avoiding making this decision for years but now I cannot bear to see you in pain any longer." He shook his head, feeling his body constrict with emotion as he thought of the agony he felt from her every time they did this. Every time they caught up to Louie over the years, it was the same debilitating sadness that over took her and he couldn't take it anymore. He looked down and said. "I need you to find some kind of peace in this. Either reveal yourself or stay away. But this back and forth is not helping."

"Once again you are right." She actually looked at him with the smallest hint of a proud smile on her lips. It was very faint but it had been there. "But I do not know where I'm suppose to go from here. Any decision doesn't seem right. How am I suppose to choose?"

"I don't know, but make a choice. And make it soon, Helen."

**A/N: oh yea...didnt see that coming did you? You have no idea how badly i have been wanting to do that since Louie was first ever introduced...but i had to be patient or else it wouldn't work the right way...but now it is out and i cant wait to see the reaction it gets**


	26. Hold my hand, I'm slipping

**Chapter 26 Hold my hand, I'm slipping**

_The next afternoon_

"I'm so glad you decided to come out with me today. I didn't think you would after how heavy everything got last night. But I'm happy you did." Elena said to me the next day as we strolled along the pathway of a nearby park in Mystic Falls with cups of coffee in our hands and the afternoon sun shinning down on us. Elena was referring to the phone call that had woken up me up mid morning to invite me to hang out with her for the day to catch up since I would have no company with Louie going to ground for the day. So I had agreed and after showering and dressing in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved dark green top, I grabbed my jacket and went to meet her. And of course with Elena knowing me fairly well, she was already waiting with two cups of coffee beside her on the bench in the town square. I happily accepted it and here we were walking and drinking and just catching up on each other lives, making me realize just how much I had missed her. "It gives us a chance to just reconnect with each other."

"I still can't believe I never thought to try and contact you before now. I mean, its been months since my resurrection and it never crossed my mind to pick up the phone and call." I shook my head in disbelief at how I allowed so much time to go by without even thinking of the Salvatores or Elena. They had been my closest friends here in Mystic Falls and they and even come to my funeral and yet I just hadn't thought to come see them until recently. I looked at Elena in shame. "I'm sorry I didn't get in touch sooner after I was brought back. It was just so..."

"Difficult to get back to normal?" Elena finished for me with a small smile. "Yea, I understand. I'm still having a hard time believing it is really you so I get where you're coming from. I mean, you were suddenly brought back to life. Of course you're not going to be thinking straight for a while."

"I still have a difficult time accepting it for myself." I said, taking another sip of my coffee as I contemplated my own words. It was true that sometime I still couldn't accept that I had gotten another chance at life and not from becoming a vampire, it was just due to some pretty spectacular magic. But I never had been able to dwell on it for too long since there was always something else to take my attention away. "Actually I have a hard time accepting everything that has happened to me. It has just come at me one after the other, I almost didn't have a chance to breathe before something else happened."

"Then its a good thing you came here, it sounds like you really could use the vacation." Elena smiled, tucking back her long brown hair when it blew in front of her eyes. "I'm honestly glad you're here. I hate what brought you back to Mystic Falls but still, it means I finally got to know that my friend is still alive."

"So I guess Godric attacking me has a silver lining then." I spat out without thinking, kicking my self for letting it slip so carelessly. I had been trying so hard to keep my feelings about Godric at bay but sometimes like now, they just, slipped through the cracks and came out without warning. "Sorry about that. I just haven't gotten over the initial feelings I have about it."

"I still can't believe he attacked you like that. I mean, I met Godric and he did not seem like he had a bad bone in his body. And yet he did this." Elena shook her head in such a way that I knew she was on my side entirely. It was like she had it in her head that I was right and she didn't even need to question it. I guess in her mind there was no way I could be wrong and I was touched that our bond was still strong enough for her to think that way. She looked at me with a grimace, like she was fighting against asking me something but her curiosity must have won out because she asked me the one question I did not want to have to hear. "What did you see in his head that led him to attacking you?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." I immediately said, cutting off any and all possibilities of this conversation going on. "I would rather just forget it ever happened."

"I'm just curious because I can't imagine there is anything in Godric's past that he would be embarrassed for anyone to see." Elena shrugged, looking as naïve about Godric as I had been in the past. I too had thought there was no way this even tempered, nice mannered vampire could ever be capable of having such a dark and sad past. Boy was I ever wrong. "Have you told anyone what you saw? Does anyone know?"

"Not really, I mean Louie kind of has an idea because he was with Godric for that first 1000 years so he knows all of Godric's memories and then even more from when they were both still human. But I didn't actually say the words out loud, Louie just knew." I explained, thinking back to that phone call I had made when I wanted to leave Shreveport. All I had said to Louie was I saw something sad inside Godric's head before he had been turned and Louie just instantly knew what I was referring to. I was glad because the thought of having to voice exactly what I saw was horrifying and maybe that was the reason I couldn't truly hate Godric. I felt too sorry for him after seeing that. I looked at Elena and shrugged. "I just feel like it's not my business to talk about. It's his memory, not mine and he must feel horrified that I know and I think the less people who also know, the better."

"I guess so." Elena nodded, tossing her empty cup in a nearby trash bin before turning to look at me. "But if you need to talk about it then you can talk to me. I can keep it to myself if you ask me to."

"I appreciate that and I know you can be discreet, but I honestly don't even want to acknowledge that it happened. It's one of the rare times I wish I could be glamored and have it all erased." I stated with a sigh, throwing my coffee away with hers and crossed my arms. "I'll deal with it when I go back, but I came here to have a break from it all and that's what I intended to do. I will enjoy myself during these few days."

"Of course you will..and I'm going to help with that."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

_"Stupid vampire...I can't believe I'm helping this idiot."_

_"...after what he did, I have half a mind to stake him right here and now..."_

_"It's the middle of the day, no one could stop me...but I won't do it. He is still Allison's friend and it would hurt her if I killed him."_

_"But boy would I like too"_

"Molly?" Godric groggily opened his eyes, taking in the sight of the older woman who resembled Allison, standing against the opposite wall as she finished stuffing things in a bag before turning her eyes on him after he rattled the silver chains that still held him captive. He was surprised to find her here, not seeing her since she had come to see Allison that night when she told them all everything. So what the hell had brought her down to the basement of Allie and Eric's house. He felt the sting from the silver digging into his wrist but he ignored it as best as he could as he addressed her. "What are you doing..."

"I'm here as a favor to Eric and more for Allison. But I was hoping to get out of here without having to speak to you directly, but I guess that's not going to happen." Molly said coldly, her eyes practically cutting a hole through him as she stared him down with no fear and he could kind of understand why. A woman, no matter how timid or shy would turn into an absolute wild cat if their children were harmed and he had been the one to do that and he hated himself for it. "I went to Fangtasia last night and Eric spoke to me about doing a spell to aid him in detoxing you and I agreed. That's why I am here, I was just finishing the spell when you came to."

"What kind of spell?" Godric questioned, trying to find a way to wiggle out of these chains but there was just too much silver even for a vampire as old as him. Eric and Pam had done a top notch job of making sure he could not escape. Eventually he just gave up and looked at Molly who had stepped closer to him with a frown. "What did you do?"

"More like what I should have done." She grumbled, clutching her bag with both hands as if the action were to keep her from doing something she didn't want to do. "I cast a spell on this room to imprison you even if you were to get free. I can't stop you from summoning Eric to remove the silver but I can stop you from leaving the room. And when Eric asked me to do that, I was only all too happy to keep you trapped here just a little bit longer."

"Molly, I really need to express my sincere..." Godric tried to apologize but it seemed like that him alluding to an apology was the very thing that sent her into a tail spin.

"No, don't you dare even speak about what you did." Molly cut in, her vibrant green eyes that she had passed on to Allison went shooting daggers at him from across the room. "You do not get to apologize because you saying those words is more about making you feel better then actually having shame for hurting that poor girl."

"But I am sorry. I truly am." Godric dropped his gaze from her face and stared down at his feet, feeling the guilt eating away at him. He knew what he had done was wrong, he knew reacting that way was unforgivable and he wasn't expecting to ever be able to make up for it or be forgiven. But he did want to show he was sorry because he was. He would never stop being sorry. "I never meant to hurt Allison..."

"You asshole! You didn't just hurt her, you almost killed her!" Molly exploded, throwing down her bag and stomping over to him and grabbing him by the throat so he was staring into her eyes again and seeing her rage and hatred for him. She wasn't hurting him, but he was very keenly aware of her fingernails digging in his skin. "You nearly killed my first born child. You are nothing more then a heartless monster."

"I know, trust me I know." Godric practically felt her anger swelling when he spoke but he had to ignore it because he needed to get out what was in his head. He had nothing but time to think about this and he knew just how bad the situation was and he wanted to make it right. "She was my friend and I did something unforgivable."

"You're damn right you did. She told me how you were her best friend and then you go and betray that friendship by attacking her for something she couldn't help. How could you be so evil?" Molly demanded, dropping her hand away from his throat and stepping back with a shake of her head. "Especially after she sacrificed a part of herself to bring you back to life."

"I have thought of nothing but that since I attacked her and..."

"You should be thanking her on bended knee every night for doing that." Molly hissed, breathing hard as her rage was beginning to consume her. "She didn't have to do it, but she did. And this is how you thank her?"

"I will make amends for my actions. I promise I will. You have my word..." Godric tried to say but once again Molly interrupted to get the last word.

"Your word is shit to me and you are a fucking idiot." The older woman said, leaning down to grab the handle of her bag before stomping towards the door way, obviously intending to leave. But she had just opened the heavy steel door before turning back to lock eyes with him again. "Actually I take that back because saying you are an idiot implies there is still hope for you and there isn't. And what I should have said was that you are no better then her father."

Godric watched Molly leave with a heaviness in his chest because he knew he deserved the wrath of her words. He had nearly killed someone very close to him senselessly because of the trauma of his past. And it wasn't just her that he hurt. It was Eric and Sookie and Molly whose lives he had mangled. Allie wasn't just a friend, she was a cousin, a sister, a daughter, Eric's future wife. And he had nearly taken her away from all those people. So he very much deserved every bit of Molly's anger.

"Forget everyone else forgiving me...i will never forgive myself for this."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night back in Mystic Falls<span>_

"You know what? I totally needed a day like today. Thanks for dragging me all over town." I said to Elena with a smile as we stepped inside the doorway of the Salvatore house and began shedding our jackets. After our sort of emotional talk in the park, we had put all that heaviness behind us and had a fun rest of the afternoon together. And now we had ended up back here at the Salvatore house just as the sky had turned black. I knew it would only be a matter of time before we had Damon on our asses causing trouble again, so after I hung up my jacket I turned to her and said. "But maybe we should have waited at the hotel for Louie. He doesn't know anyone here and I feel weird leaving him alone..."

"I'm a 2000 year old vampire and I may be a hermit sometimes, but I do not need a babysitter to make sure I socialize." Louie's amused voice came at us from around the corner as he stepped into the front hallway with his hands in his pockets and Stefan at his heels who had a genuine smile on his lips. I must have had a weird look on my face because Louie said "What? Not happy to see me?"

"No..more like shocked to find you here." I shook my head, fighting back a smile as Elena left my side and went into Stefan's arms. "I mean, you only met everyone last night and the first time I see you today, you are here. Are you and Stefan like forming a bromance or something?"

"What does that mean?" Louie questioned, his face filled with confusion while Stefan, Elena and I dissolved into a shared fit of laughter which only seemed to make Louie more confused. "I don't get it."

"No offense Louie but you really need to get with the times, it means you have a close friendship with a guy." I explained, rolling my eyes as he nodded but not seeming like he entirely understood what I was talking about. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well I stayed in the hotel until after you had fallen asleep and then I left and went to ground in the woods. When the sun set I came here to wait for you since it seemed to be the most likely place you would go." Louie told me before nodding to Stefan. "He was nice enough to let me in."

"I didn't mind, I kind of like his company." Stefan stated, wrapping his arm around Elena before grinning at Louie, an action for which I was grateful for. I had been thinking that Louie needed to be around vampires more and that if anyone were to make friends with him it would be Stefan, Those two were just so much alike. "Besides, Damon can be a bit much at times."

"Where is he any way?" Elena wanted to know, already looking like she wanted to protest if he was here. "I would have thought he would have been ready to be inappropriate at the first sound of us approaching the house."

"Damon took off to hunt as soon as he woke up. You know how he is." Stefan explained, directing this more at Elena and I. "He probably won't be back for a while."

"Well that doesn't surprise me." Louie replied sarcastically, sounding very much annoyed at the mere mention of Damon's name. But then again, most people had that reaction after they met Damon. And for a while I did too. But it seemed like Louie's annoyance for the vampire was on a different level and I suppose it had to do wit them both being immortal and it wasn't often when Damon was upstaged. " I have forgotten what it's like to have the thirst of such a young vampire."

"It has nothing to do with age, trust me." Stefan started laughing, his handsome face appearing lighter then it had in a while. "Damon just cannot help himself."

"Oh I sensed that last night." Louie nodded in agreement, his hands running through his short blonde hair as he shrugged. "Damon doesn't seem to have a lot of self control."

"Alright alright as much as I love the Damon bashing, I feel the need to jump in and end it." Elena pointed out, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes due to Stefan and Louie going back and forth. "We should really take advantage of his absence and do something instead of just standing here. Because once he shows up, he is going to change the whole mood of the night."

"She has a point there, Damon does have a nasty habit of..." I began to say but I was cut off by the buzzing of my cell phone in my back pocket. I took it out, intending to put it on silent but my eyes fell on the screen and I felt myself practically jump in happiness. "It's Eric! I'm going to go outside and talk to him."

"Tell him hi for me." Louie called out sarcastically as I slipped back out into the cold night air.

* * *

><p>"Did your battery die? Or have I stunned you into silence with my super seductive voice?"<p>

"Oh my god, you are so full of yourself." I exclaimed into the phone, walking across the front porch to lean against the side as I listened to Eric chuckle on his end of the line which was probably proceeded by his trademark smirk. I could tell this even though it was only on the phone but I knew him so well that I knew his facial expressions for anything he could say. "I guess it was too much to hope that one day apart would soften you."

"Yea, that will never happen." Eric replied very sarcastically, the sound of a glass hitting a table top in the background. "So...has that piece of crap town bored you to death yet? Are you going to come home like tonight?"

"If that's your way of asking me how it's going so far then let me tell you it is just a freaking blast." I laughed, not even attempting to hold back the giggles that came out of my mouth. Eric was being playful tonight which was a rarity these days. "Actually, the reunions went pretty well. They weren't as hard to get through as I thought. And I even was able to tell them everything that has happened since I last saw them. So it's good."

"And how about those two assholes Louie and Damon?" Eric asked, his voice immediately flooding with jealousy that he would never be able to hide despite his best efforts and it only made me smile to hear that. "How are they doing?"

"Wow Eric, why don't you really tell me how you feel about me being around such good looking vampires." I shook my head, finding such amusement in his jealousy, but I was actually very touched by it. Eric didn't often express himself so blatantly so when he did, I really enjoyed it. "I wouldn't worry about it. Louie is a perfect gentleman and Damon is...Damon. And besides, they kind of hate each other already."

"At least if they hate each other, that will keep them busy and away from thinking about you." Eric laughed slightly, taking the edge of his jealous tone. "Just make sure they behave themselves around you or else you should stake them both."

"You would say that." I rolled my eyes, tossing my hair behind me as I stared up at the moon, knowing he was probably looking at it too. "And I can't do that unless my life is in danger."

"I won't tell if you won't."

Eric saying this so lightly somehow unlocked something inside of me and I found myself actually getting misty eyed as I stood there in the chilly night air. And once I acknowledged this, it opened the gates and I started feeling my vision getting blurry from tears. It was crazy how it hit me so suddenly but there it was right in front of me. I was missing Eric and the more I had tried to not think about him for the past 24 hours, the more it was apparent right now as I was on the phone with him.

"Oh dear God. Are you crying?" Eric's voice brought me back out to the present just as he started to sound uncomfortable. "Don't do that, you know I hate it."

"I can't help it." I retorted, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand because I knew it would end up coming into play in my voice if I didn't stop them in their tracks. "I miss you so much."

"See? I would rather hear that then your tears." Eric told me, the sound of the glass hitting the table again as he seemed to be tapping it. " You should come home then. It's not the same without you."

"I can't come back yet and we both know why." I muttered, my face going cold in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature as my thoughts suddenly went from missing Eric to his imprisoned maker. "How is he? Are things going ….ok?"

"Not really, it's kind of difficult right now." Eric seemed to be reluctant to tell me this. "I'm trying to help him, but it's a struggle because I'm so pissed."

I could understand that because I too was dealing with my own feelings of anger towards Godric. How could I not? The guy was my best friend and he had viciously attacked me for something that was beyond my control. I hadn't set out to find out that information, it had just come to me. I didn't do it to hurt him and the Godric I knew and loved should have realized that. But there was a whole other side of him that I didn't know about and I got a glimpse of it the other night. Still, I couldn't help but feel some kind of compassion towards him. And maybe that was why I asked this next question.

"Has he asked about me?" I didn't know why I needed to know the answer, I just did. I had briefly wondered if my blood had made him so crazy that he wouldn't even think about me, let alone say my name. "Does he talk about what happened?"

"He has expressed his guilt nearly every time I go down there, so yes, he does mention you an awful lot." Eric grumbled, his voice getting dark to the point where I knew that things were probably worse then he was letting on. "I don't know how sincere it is though."

"I feel bad that you guys are struggling but I also feel weird that I still feel sympathetic towards him." I admitted, knowing it didn't make sense that I could still care about the well being of someone who had almost ended my life. But this wasn't just anyone, this was Godric. Still... "I shouldn't feel sorry for him at all."

"That's just how you are. You see the good in people even when they hurt you." Eric said, reminding me of that trait within myself. "Case in point me and Godric."

"It's different though and you know it. You never tried to kill me." I muttered even though I knew he made a good point. Eric had hurt me many many times in the past and yet I always went back to him because I knew underneath all the attitude and manipulative tendencies, he was till the man I loved who would protect me at any cost. And Godric had been the same way in terms of protecting me. He had never hurt me up until the attack but his previous good behavior didn't cancel this out. And Eric knew it. "I don't know if I can ever forgive him."

"It's too soon to think about that. We just need to focus on doing our own thing right now and we will figure it out when you come home."

"I agree." I ran my fingers through the ends of my long hair and sighed. "The better part of that will be seeing you again."

"Then make it soon.''

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"So...I think we need to have ourselves a little talk."

"Oh really?" Louie asked with raised eyebrows as Elena pointed to a nearby couch in the living by the fireplace that she clearly meant for him to sit down on. So he humored her and did, only because he was genuinely curious about what she intended to say to him that put such a serious look on her face. He only just met her, but he knew what was about to come out of her mouth had to do with Allison. And he only knew that because once it was apparent that Allison would be on the phone for a while and wouldn't be coming back, Elena had spoken up and asked him to sit down while she and Stefan sat across from him. "Well I'm all ready to listen so shoot."

"I would prepare yourself. She looks serious about this." Stefan said jokingly, eying Elena with a bemused grin. "She will go off on you if she has to to get her point across."

"Stefan shut up." Elena snapped but it was more in a chipper tone then an annoyed one. It was obvious that these two shared a great love together which was very rare between a human and a vampire, but they seemed to make it as easy as breathing. Perhaps it was her relationship with this young vampire that made Elena feel brave enough to stare him down with suspicious eyes. "Are you trust worthy?"

"Would you believe me if I answered either way?" Louie asked back, sitting up straight as he knew where this was going. "Because I have a feeling that if you're asking me that, then you don't entirely believe that I'm here with pure intentions."

"I don't know you and that's the problem. Hence why I wanted to talk to you about this." Elena crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the couch as if gearing up for a long fight. "I need to know that you're not like other guys and more importantly, that you're not like other vampires."

"I'm a vampire, I'm not entirely good." Louie said smartly, but there was truth behind it. He didn't have a clean past, no vampire did. And with him being as old as he was, he had to have killed many humans before the creation of the synthetic blood. So he had been a killer for a very long time. Maybe not to the degree that some vampires were, but he had still killed and he wasn't going to pretend that he hadn't. But when he looked at Elena, he didn't think she was referring to that. "You're not asking me about what I've done are you?

"No. That's your business not ours." Elena stated, glancing at Stefan who was now also looking at him with the same expression of intensity. "I want to know what kind of person you are. Or more accurately, I want to know what kind of friend you are to people."

"I'm not exactly the type of vampire who has a lot of friends, so I'm still kind of getting use to how it works." Louie had to bite on the inside of his mouth to keep from smirking because he knew what they both were getting at. "But I can assure you that when I do make friends, I am very loyal and protective of them."

"Good, you better be because Allison has been through enough and she really needs a true friend." Elena pointed out, her young face entirely overcome with determination to get out her opinion. "She has gone through a lot of hell in her life and the last thing she needs is someone who is not fully committed to being a loyal and kind friend."

"Allison is such a kind and generous girl and it's easy to be harsh to her because she won't usually throw it back in your face. But things affected her very hard and she means a lot to the both of us and we don't want to see her hurt anymore." Stefan insisted, scooting to the edge of the couch to lean his elbows on his knees. "She's a good person and she would do anything to help any one. She doesn't deserve the shit that happens to her."

"I know that and I promise you that I will never hurt her like any one has before." Louie assured them both, feeling extremely touch that these two showed such concern towards Allison. It was rare these days to see that in people and that wasn't just directed at vampires. Humans were genuinely harsh to each other so it was refreshing to see one sitting in front of him and demanding that he treat another with the kindness she deserved. "Do not worry. I have every intention of being a good friend."

"Good because she does not need a repeat of Godric." Elena said with disgust hanging heavy in her voice. "Do not become what he has."

"There is no danger of that happening..ever."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Well, it's nice to see that you haven't wandered off." Louie's voice came at my back just as I was slipping my phone back in my pocket and I looked over my shoulder to find him walking towards me with a look that said he was out here to check on me and I knew it was because he probably wanted to make sure Eric hadn't said something mean. He came up beside me on the railing and leaned with his back against it and asked "So, are you going to come back in and save me any time soon?"

"Uh oh, were they not nice to you while I was talking to Eric?" I asked with a smirk, looking up at Louie's face while holding back a giggle. "Do I need to go yell at them for being mean to my friend?"

"I think it will be ok without you yelling. That might scare them more then getting to them." Louie smiled down at me with a type of smile that I had a feeling he didn't often show so I felt extremely lucky that he would let his walls down around me. "But on a more serious note, they were more then just nice. They are concerned about your well being and they wish nothing more then for you to be happy. You have some pretty amazing friends Allison."

"Oh I definitely know that." I agreed, thinking about the two people inside who had been nothing but kind and loyal for as long as I had known them. I knew just how rare it was to have friends like that and I was determined to hold on to them tighter then I had before. I wasn't going to let this much time go by before I saw or talked to them again. "Elena and Stefan are just so great. I'm lucky to have them."

"We should all be so lucky to have people like that in our lives." Louie murmured, his face catching the light from the moon before he asked. "So, how was your call with Eric?"

"It was...hard and wonderful at the same time. It just has become very apparent to me how much I miss him." I explained, running my hands down my face to ward off any possibility of crying again. I felt emotional now that the subject had turned to Eric, but I would be damned if I allowed myself to fall apart again so soon. Once in a night was enough for me. "Being away from him, even for only a day, has been harder then I thought. It makes me feel like a part of me is missing."

"I know that feeling all too well." Louie grumbled, his body becoming tense and more tight then it usually was and I knew exactly where this was leading. So when he opened his mouth and spoke about Helen, I wasn't entirely surprised or caught off guard. He was speaking about her more and more these days. "I've felt only half there for the last 1000 years. Ever since Helen died, I don't feel like I have ever regained that side of myself."

"I can't imagine going through that and suffering with it for so long. I don't know how you do it." I told Louie, partially amazed that anyone could mourn someone for that many years and not give up on holding on to that pain. But I was mostly sad for him. I hated to think that someone as kind and as funny and as nice as Louie was in pain. And I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. I could only talk. "I mean, when we were battling the witches all those months ago, they used a spell on a vampire to make it seem like I was watching Eric getting staked right in front of me. That was the closest I had ever felt to knowing what it would be like to live without him. And that was painful enough. But you...God, you have it so much worse. How do you keep going?"

"Some times I honestly don't know." He answered truthfully when it would have been so easy to just lie and say he was stronger then he looked. But he had never seemed like the type to lie and I don't he ever would. Maybe he just didn't see the point in it. The truth always came out in the end. "There have been moments when I just wish Helen was still here so much that I have considered meeting the true death just so I could see her again. But that would have been an insult to her memory and I don't want that to be tainted."

"I'm glad you never did it, other wise I never would have met you and I would still be in the dark about a lot of things. I'm more knowledgeable about myself because of you." I explained gently, needing him to know that he was important to my life now and not just because he knew a lot of information about Faeries. But because I truly felt like he was supposed to be in my life and he had treated me the way friends should treat each other. I couldn't let him go after that. "You're important to me and I think you could be important to other people if you would just..."

_"Look at the two of them..they remind me so much of..."_

"What the fuck?" I hissed when those thoughts began fading from my mind and I snapped my head to the side in the direction of the treeline on the edge of the Salvatore property and peered into the woods. I couldn't see anything and I could no longer hear this random person's thoughts, but I knew exactly what had happened. I knew the reason for why I had suddenly begun shaking like a leaf and why my skin had gone cold.

I had just been inside the mind of a vampire.

"What's wrong?" Louie grabbed my arm after I had jumped up and began frantically staring out into the dark, trying to catch sight of anything that would give me a clue as to who had just been watching us. "Allison what happened?"

"I just heard the thoughts of a vampire, a female vampire and I think she was watching us." I explained, ignoring the tight way he was holding on to my arm as I kept looking into the woods but there was nothing to see. I looked back up at Louie's face, seeing the doubt in his eyes. "Who ever she was, she's gone now."

"I didn't hear anything and if there really was someone watching us then I would have heard any move they made or I would have seen them and I did not see anything." Louie pointed out logically, letting me go and turning his head towards the woods but he soon looked back as there was nothing to see. "Maybe you're mistaken. Maybe the stress of the past few days made you think you heard something when you really didn't."

"Yea... maybe." I replied half sarcastically and half seriously but not because I thought I was mistaken. I only went along with it because I did not want to have any kind of argument that would ensue when I tried to prove I was right because there was no point. I couldn't prove that I had heard some random vampire's thoughts when Louie didn't pick up on anything and his senses were stronger then mine were. But I knew what I heard and I didn't think it was entirely coincidence that I heard those thoughts at the exact moment when I was sitting outside with Louie. But for the moment I wasn't going to question it, at least not until I had a reason to. I turned to nod over to the front door and said "Let's go back inside and figure out something to do tonight."

"Good idea." Louie nodded, still looking at me oddly before being the first to walk towards the door with me following close behind him. I looked back over my shoulder, wondering if this time I would see anything but of course I didn't. So I went inside with Louie but I couldn't help but feel a familiar twinge that something wasn't right.

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"That was close...too close. We were nearly seen."

"Yes I know that." Helen found herself grumbling to her male vampire companion as they disappeared further into the woods and away from the eyes of the figure that had nearly seen them. It was dangerous allowing herself to move so close to the edge of the property just to catch a glimpse of Louie when he stepped outside to join the girl. She should have torn herself away right then and there. She should have taken off into the dark night as soon as Louie appeared. He was a vampire, he could see through the tree line better then any other creature and he could have seen her face. Her cover would have been blown and he would have come after her. That should have been warning enough for her to turn and leave. But when she heard her name pass over his lips, it was like she was frozen to the ground by silver chains. She had been unable to move for quite a while as she listened and watched him interact with this girl named Allison. But then somehow, this girl had suddenly turned her head in the direction where Helen was hiding in the distance, almost as if she were seeing them. And that had been what finally sent Helen and her companion running into the very heart of the woods without looking back. It was only when they had come to a stop did either of them finally initiate a conversation. "It's curious how that girl could have known we were here. We were very far away from the edge of the property, there is no way she could have seen us."

"She must have heard something. She had to have heard us." The male vampire at her side proclaimed as he stood against a nearby tree with his arms crossed. "There's no other way she could have known we were there."

"She couldn't have heard us since Louie didn't." Helen frowned, looking back over her shoulder at the path they had just traveled on, but there was nothing to be seen for miles. And still she looked as if half expecting this girl to come and appear out of nowhere. It was very curious how she could have known to turn her head and look in the exact direction Helen had been standing in just minutes ago. "She must have sensed it in some other way. It's too coincidental."

"You looked at her like she meant something to you, like she was a reminded of some sort." The male said as he pushed himself back up to his full height and looked over at her with his lips paused in a question that he seemed to have figured out but needed confirmation for. "She's like you isn't she? She's a Faerie."

"Yes she is, but she is more then what I use to be. She's much stronger then she will ever realize." Helen explained, feeling a twinge of jealousy run through her at the thought of seeing a girl who was twice the Faerie she had ever been. Even back in Helen's time, there had hardly been a sighting of a 'true Fae'. A faerie who was 100 percent magical was a very rare thing to encounter and everyone in her village had only been part Fae, herself included. So to see Allison and sense the true power in her blood, even from this distance gave her a sense of jealousy from not being the one to have that power. But then again, it was truly a wonderful thing to see her because that meant their race hadn't been truly hunted into extinction like so many vampires believed. But when she thought about it, Helen couldn't truly call herself a faerie anymore. It would be a lie to say she still was, at least in her mind. She turned her head back around as her shoulders sank. "Allison is what I wish I still was."

"You're still you, that hasn't changed now that you're a vampire." He told her, his pale face twisting into a mask of confusion and she could understand why. She hardly talked about who she use to be so when she mentioned it in any small context, it was big. His curled up into a frown just as she sensed another budding question was about to pass into the open air between them. "Why don't you ever speak of your turning? Why have we gone all these years and never talked about it?"

"My son, that time for me was not like your turning. It was dark and painful and I was left alone to deal with it for so long. It's shaped me into the vampire I am and I can't go back to how I use to be. It's not possible." Helen shook her head as her thoughts turned to the moment a thousand years ago when she had been turned into this frozen immortal body. She never liked to revisit it because it had been against her will, she never wanted to become this. But as much as she hated what she was, she hated dying that much more so she couldn't ever even think about meeting the true death. So her whole existence had been about hating what she was and wishing that moment had never come to be. But it had and there was nothing to be done about it. She stared up at the stars shining through the tree branches and shook her head. "I'm a monster now."

"Is that why you stayed hidden for all these years? Because of what you think you became?" He asked, his need to understand clearly etched in his face. "Because I don't think that is true at all."

"Gabriel, this isn't something we can argue back and forth about. There is no gray area. I'm not what I use to be. I'm no longer the Faerie that Louie loved a thousand years ago." Helen stared at her progeny, weary of having to try and convince him that she was not this pure innocent being that she appeared to be. Her looks gave off the picture of someone who had never done a thing wrong in her life, but she knew better. She was not pure and she was not good. She saw all the details of everything she had done since she had become an immortal and there was no way to argue that there was still a part of her soul that wasn't maimed by her turn into a vampire. She was beyond repair, her soul could not be saved. She looked at her child and saw his stubbornness starting to unfold. "I'm just...a cold and angry monster."

"No..." Gabriel immediately was shaking his head in defiant refusal to believe this statement as he walked over to her in the middle of the path, towering over her. "No, if you truly were a monster then you would have killed me instead of turning me. But you didn't, you gave me a 2nd chance and a better chance at life. That's not evil, that's salvation."

"You only say that because I'm your maker and you're fiercely loyal to me." Helen actually found herself smiling as she reached out and patted his arm. He had always been this way since she turned him, always wanting to watch over her and protect her even from herself. He had always been there to pull her out of the darkness of her own mind and believe that she was better then she actually was. He was the epitome of a perfect progeny, but as much as he wanted to believe that she was this perfect immortal, she knew she wasn't. "I appreciate your kind words but they're not necessary."

"My beautiful, kind maker...I say it because I mean it and not because of our connection." Gabriel reached up to cup her delicate face in his hands before he went on. " I don't believe you turning me was evil and I don't think you're a monster. And Louie wouldn't either."

"He loved me as a Faerie, not a vampire." Helen replied, feeling her face fall as she removed herself from her child's hold as a wave of pain rushed over her. This was exactly why she did not want to ever voice her thoughts out loud, it always seemed so much more painful when it was outside her head. Louie's memories of her was when she was this innocent young faerie, he fell in love with her before she had been turned. He wouldn't love her as anything other then that. She looked at Gabriel with her shoulders sinking further. "I don't want him to know me like this."

"Or do you just not want him to know you at all?" Gabriel asked as he began walking away with his hands cupping the back of his head. He however decided against leaving and turned back around with a sigh. "Do you still love him?"

Helen stared up at the stars through the thinly leafed branches and thought about what her progeny just asked her. She supposed that her actions did suggest that she still loved him. Tracking someone for hundreds of years just to catch a momentary glimpse of them could possibly say that she still harbored her love for him deep inside of her. But she had never explored it because she knew how much being a vampire had changed her over all and she didn't want one more thing to change. She didn't want to find that her love for Louie had changed. She had loved him with all her heart and soul and she refused to let that be altered in any way. So she kept that part of her locked away and never acknowledged it. But as she stood here now with her progeny, it was becoming more obvious that she may have to eventually address it. Along with the idea that she may not have an answer.

"I don't know if I know what love is anymore."


	27. Change of plans

**Chapter 27 Change of plans**

_The next morning_

"We have a problem...a big problem." Her friend Aaron said upon walking through the front door of her apartment and standing there with a worried look on his face and that only proceeded to worry her even more then she already had been before his arrival.

Molly knew there was something about to wrong from the moment she had woken up almost 3 hours ago and it was only now that she was having it validated. She couldn't explain why she had this sudden upswing of fear when she opened her eyes. There had been no nightmare, no sudden noise of an intruder, no sound coming from her 3 year old daughter, nothing to signify that she should have cause for why she felt like there was a threat looming at her back. She tried to chalk it up to the stress of what had happened with Allison and Godric and she tried to go about her morning as normally as possible. Only she couldn't shake that foreboding feeling of doom, it followed her through breakfast and as she was getting her daughter ready to be dropped off at the day care center. Even when she came back to the apartment to get ready for work, it got even more heavy as if telling her she was about to find out what it any second now. And sure enough, when she heard the spare key in the door and she saw Aaron walk through the doorway, she knew this was the moment she had been waiting for.

"I think I know what you're getting at but I don't want you to say it." Molly shook her head, dropping her shoes to the floor as it hit her what this had to be about. Only one thing could have Aaron bursting through the door so maniacally and looking like he had been running from a monster. And it made so much sense that she was amazed she hadn't figured it out early. She should have known. She looked at Aaron pleadingly. "Please don't say what I think you're going to say..."

"I'm sorry, but I just got word from some of our witch friends in Mississippi and it seems that Allison's father Mark has been spotted traveling through the state on some kind of rampage." Aaron explained gently, taking a seat beside her on the couch with one hand on the back of his head and one clasping his knee when he was sitting. "There apparently have been some pretty gruesome murders that they think he committed as he went through the cities and they thought they needed to give us fair warning since you have had trouble with him in the past."

"I should have killed him when I had the chance, then he wouldn't be roaming around killing at random." Molly grumbled, wanting to curse herself for not finishing Mark off the last time they encountered each other. It had been a few years ago when he last tracked her down and their confrontation had nearly ended in bloodshed but before she could actually stake him, he had taken off at the last second as he always had and avoiding his fate. And now he was close by again, almost like he was taunting her to know that he could still easily find her. "But maybe he's just passing through and he won't try and start something."

"Do you really believe that?" Aaron asked, evident that he doubted Allison's vampire birth father would not try and cause chaos when he was so close by. "History has never been on your side from what you have told me."

"Yes that is true, but if he does track me down again then I will handle him as I always have. And hopefully this time I can finally kill him for good." Molly knew she sounded a lot more confident then she actually felt. And the truth was that she was nervous about the prospect of having to face down her ex again. She was tired of having to live her life in fear of him always finding her and she just wanted it to be over or at least have him continue on his way for another few years before she would have to deal with him. "It will be fine, it always is."

"I don't know if it's you I'm worried about this time." Aaron's face sudden;y filled with concern at that moment as if a scary thought had just struck him and he looked at her harshly before demanding. "When was the last time you saw Mark?"

"It has to be at least 4 years, right before I got pregnant with Susan." Molly nodded, thinking back to that time that she could remember all too clearly of seeing Mark looking the same as he did when he was 19, and him trying to attack her yet again. She wished she couldn't remember every detail of that night, but she did and she wondered why Aaron needed to know about that."What does that matter?"

"If Mark has been away for a few years and is just suddenly showing up in the same state as you now, then it has to be for a reason." He retorted with a sigh, his warm breath catching her face as he looked at her with more concern then ever. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"I think so..." Molly didn't want to agree but she had no choice because whether she liked it or not, this was becoming a problem again and ignoring it was not going to help anyone. "It's too coincidental not to mean something. But what could make him track me down out of nowhere?"

"Maybe it is because it has been years and he just wants to start trouble again." Aaron suggested, but the look in his eyes said that he had another answer in mind that she really didn't want to hear but he would say it anyway. "But what if this trouble doesn't have to do with you? What if it has to do with someone you're connected to?"

"Oh God, he might have found out about Allison and may be trying to track her down." Molly felt her eyes widen as a gasp escaped her mouth just as the notion struck her. It was entirely possible that he could have done some digging around and found out that his daughter was in Shreveport, after all Molly had been able to do it with little trouble so it could have been the same with him. And if that were true, then things were even more doomed then she previously thought. "Shit, if he know where she is or anything about her then she's in serious danger. Mark is the craziest and most determined little shit ever. If he wants to find her then he will, nothing will stop him."

"If that's true then he can find out she's not even in Louisiana and he could track her to Mystic Falls if he talks to the right kind of people. Especially if he is as determined as you say he is." Aaron looked ready to jump up and fight as if Mark himself had just burst into the apartment. But it was mid morning and all the vampires had gone to ground for the day, which came to Aaron's next point. "She needs to come home immediately so she's under our protection and the protection of the vampires."

"You're right, you're absolutely right." Molly felt herself beginning to get flustered as she thought of this sudden change of plans. Allison had taken off for Mystic Falls to get away from the craziness and now they were going to have to bring her right back to the place she had run from. But there was no arguing about this since it was her life on the line. "I'll call her right away and make her get on a plane this afternoon. As long as she travels during then day then no vampires can intercept her."

"Ok, but then what?" Aaron wanted to know, always needing to have a plan so he could do something, it was the only way to calm his nerves. "What else should we be doing?"

"We'll have to find some way to inform the vampires she has been surrounded with...They can help us protect her from Mark..."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Mystic Falls<span>_

_Ring...ring...ring...ring..._

"Ok, ok. I'm up, just hold your damn horses already." I grumbled as I turned over in bed, my vision still foggy from being woken up out of a dead sleep by the ringing of my phone. It was almost 10 in the morning but I hadn't gotten to sleep until almost 4 being that I was spending time with Louie, Stefan and Elena, so I had been all set to at least sleep until 11, but of course luck was never on my side so I was fumbling around on the nightstand for my phone for a while. When my fingers finally curled around it, I quickly brought it to my ear and groggily asked. "Who in the hell woke me up at this hour?"

"That would be me, the woman who gave birth to you." Molly's voice rang clear through the phone and I immediately sat up in bed, almost tumbling over the side as I moved faster then I normally did when I first woke up. "Allison, I need you to listen to me very carefully..."

"Uh ok, you sound serious." I commented, kicking the sheets off my legs and swinging them down so my feet were on the floor and I felt more steady. But that was just physically, mentally I felt much more off kilter. "What's going on?"

"I didn't want to have to bother you while you were away, I know how much you needed this vacation. But I wouldn't be doing this unless it is absolutely necessary." She rambled on, seeming to get more panic ridden as she talked more and that was a trait I recognized in myself. But for once, our similarities didn't bring comfort or amusement, they just brought me fear because I knew something was about to be thrown at me that I was not prepared for. "Allison, you need to come home right away. And when I say right away, I mean like this afternoon."

"Excuse me? Are you high on something?" I blurted out just because the whole thing sounded so completely crazy and out of the blue. What could possibly be going on that needed me to come home today? I mean, I had left Shreveport 2 days ago because I needed a break and now I was being told I had to come back. I don't think so. "Why are you telling me? It doesn't make sense."

"Well its about to. Your father, your birth father, has emerged and I fear that he might be trying to track you down." Molly's explanation was definitely not one I was prepared for and I wasn't quite sure how I was suppose to react. On one hand, I knew I should be scared because he was a vampire and he had already attacked Molly severely when she was pregnant with me and she had to constantly look over her shoulder her entire life. But then again, this was my father, my birth father and I find it hard to believe that I needed to be scared of him. But if Molly was worried then I should be too. "My friend Aaron and I are in touch with witches in all 50 states, witches that live a peaceful life like we do. And they informed us that Mark, your father has been spotted traveling through Mississippi and may be responsible for a string of murders that have occurred."

"Oh my god."

"And I'm worried that he might have discovered where you are. And if he hasn't already, then if he talks to the right people then he can pretty much track you right to Mystic Falls. Hence why I want you to come home as soon as you can."

"Oh boy, this was not what I thought I was going to hear when I picked up my phone." I had to blink a few times to ensure that I was actually awake and not just dreaming and to my great disappointment, I was 100% awake. And now I had to deal with another unexpected twist without any kind of notice. I could only sigh as I said. "Ok, I'm going to start packing while I call the airlines and I will take the first available flight they can give me."

"Ok, make sure you only take a flight that is during day hours." Molly warned me in a very maternal type of way that would have moved me had I not been so overcome with panic. "Traveling at night when vampires are roaming around is not a smart idea."

"Don't worry, I know what I have to do." I told her, not even taking a chance to say good bye as I hit the end call button and jumped off my bed to grab my suitcase before I started throwing my things back in without any thought to try and fold. I set aside some clothes to put on while I grabbed my phone again and dialed a number of someone I would have to talk to before I called the airlines. While I waited for her to pick up, I continued running around the room to gather stuff to pack, feeling like my own little hurricane as I wreck havoc trying to fill my suitcase. I was just about to dart into the bathroom to grab my toiletries when the line finally was picked up. I didn't even give her a chance to say anything before I charged ahead and spoke. "Elena, we need to talk right now..."

_A few hours later_

I don't know how I did it, I really don't. But somehow I was able to get myself booked on a flight only 2 hours after I hung up with Molly and ended my call with Elena. I couldn't really tell the airlines the real reason I needed to get home right away, so I made up a lame story about someone in my family being fatally wounded in a car crash and they were dying and I needed to get on a plane as soon as possible. Luckily the woman I had been talking to took pity on me and reserved me a seat on a 12:30 flight which I of course took without resistance. After I finished packing, I only had time to get dressed and comb my hair before I had to grab my bags and hail a taxi to the airport. I felt frazzled and unsure as I hurriedly got away from Mystic Falls, hating that I was leaving it behind before I was ready. But I really didn't have a choice in the matter. I would rather go home before I wanted to and know I was safe under the protection of my birth mother and Eric rather then be a sitting duck and wait for my father to come pick me off when I was away from home.

And that brought me to here and now, sitting in a window seat in coach with my chin in my hand as I stared out at the clouds floating below the plane that was quickly shuttling me back to Louisiana. I had so much going through my mind that I didn't have a chance to sort through it as I was trying to get to the airport on time. But now that I was on the plane and had a few hours to kill, I allowed myself to start picking apart the main worries I had at the forefront.

Of course the first thing I thought about was how unfair it was that I had this new threat hanging over me so soon after what had happened with Godric. And actually it was way too soon after the past year to have another thing to worry about. It still hadn't been all that long since I had been resurrected and since then I had been on this constant struggle to bring normalcy back to my life and I still wasn't there. And now another wrench had been thrown in there and was going to prevent me from being able to breathe for the first time in a while. But as much as I wanted to kick and scream about being thrown back into the craziness I had run from, I knew it wasn't as important as my safety. I had gotten this second chance at life and I wasn't going to waste it. So I would face this new threat head on and take back control.

And part of that control was going home and seeing the people that were near and dear to my heart, or at least use to be.

I was obviously thrilled to be returning to see Eric sooner rather then later. I had missed him beyond anything I had experienced before and knowing it wasn't going to be long before I was back with him made me so incredibly happy. I mean, it was great to get away and be on my own without Eric always there. But it soon became apparent to me just how attached I was to him and how any time away from him affected me. Even though I loved seeing my friends and being in Mystic Falls again, I wasn't entirely happy because Eric wasn't at my side. He and I had been almost attached at the hip since I was resurrected and for him to not be somewhere close by made me feel like I was only partially there with my friends while my other half was back in Shreveport. So knowing I was on my way back to the home I shared with him did put a smile on my face.

But going back also meant I would be returning to the house where Godric was still detoxing and I was definitely not thrilled about that. It had only been a few days and I knew he wouldn't be back to normal when I got there but that couldn't be helped. Godric needed to stay there until my blood had truly left his system and I was just going to have to deal with it. It made me nervous, I couldn't lie about that, but I knew that with Eric around then no harm would come to me. So it made having to be in that house a little more bearable.

But what was not bearable was the fact that I had left Louie behind with absolutely no notice at all. I hated that he would wake up tonight and discover I had left the hotel without even leaving word at the front desk. But it had been the reason I had called Elena before I called the airlines. I wanted her to know what was going on that way she could explain it to the Salvatores and Louie since I couldn't do it. But even though she said she would tell them the situation, I couldn't help but feel guilty still because I wouldn't be the one to do it. Louie and I had really just started to bond in these last few days and it felt so weird to be ripped away from him. But knowing him the way I had these last few weeks, he would take off to come back to Shreveport as soon as he knew what was happening. So it wouldn't be long before he and I saw each other again.

"It shouldn't be like this, I shouldn't have to go through yet another problem in such a short amount of time...it's not fair."

It was beyond not fair and I often wondered if I had done something wrong to have the universe turn against me like this. No one person should be forced to endure as much as I have and I was amazed that I was still able to function. I hadn't gone crazy or lost my mind and acted out. I was still me and I guess I was just built to withstand this kind of trouble. Maybe my gran had been right, maybe I was stronger then I gave myself credit for. If I could go through this and come out on the other side still standing, then I could get through anything. I just had to set my mind to it. And that's what I was going to do.

I was tired of being the girl every supernatural being thought they could just pick off and do it so easily. This was my life and I was going to freaking fight for it. I wasn't just going to go into hiding and wait for something to come and get me. If I had to go out and face trouble head on just to find peace then that's what I would do.

Even if it meant having a showdown with my birth father.

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

I was here. I was home.

I was actually here in the front yard of the house I shared with Eric. I was back in Shreveport for the first time in over 48 hours and I was absolutely terrified about walking in through those front doors.

It was one thing to be standing here in the yard staring up at the house and it would be another thing to actually set foot inside. Entering that house would put me firmly back in my old life and I wasn't entirely sure I could handle it. I had gone through an array of emotions on the plane and even more so on the cab ride here to the house. But after I was left alone at the bottom on the porch steps with my suitcase at my feet and my purse in my hand, I was suddenly struck with a paralyzing fear that had kept standing out here in the early afternoon sun for over half an hour. I knew it would be tough to go inside but now that the moment had come to actually do it, it made everything so much more clear that inside this house lurked the imprisoned body of my former best friend. And it made me debate whether or not I should even be here right now and if it would just be better to go to Bon Temps and stay at my cousin's house until night came. Eric would be awake for hours and the idea of basically being alone in a house where his maker was chained up was not appealing at all. But then I was reminded of the concern Molly had expressed to me on the phone earlier this morning and I didn't want to go against the plan we had set when we spoke. It would just make things more complicated so I was going to have to suck it up and just walk through those doors and stay there until Eric was able to join me.

I grabbed my suitcase and dragged it up those few steps and shoved my key in the slot before I could further put doubt in my head and opened the door into the expansive hallway and walked in with my heart pounding furiously inside my chest in response to this emotional return. I shut the door behind me with my foot as my fingers reached out to the wall for the light switch I knew was there. My hand found it instantly and the foyer was bathed in light, allowing me to see nothing had changed since I was here. There was no furniture out of place, no blood staining the white tiles, no nothing. It was immaculate and perfect looking as I set my suitcase down by the wall and dropped my purse and keys on the table nearby. It was amazing how normal every thing looked, like nothing bad had ever happened.

At least that was my thought process before my eyes looked right down the hall and landed on the closed door that lead down to the basement.

I don't know what came over me at that moment in time, but for some reason I couldn't explain, my feet started moving me across the floor towards that door. It was like I didn't have control over myself as I hesitantly walked over to that doorway that would send me face to face with my former friend. But I would never be able to take more then a few steps before that very door opened on it's own and what appeared was the tall form of the former viking who looked just as stunned to see me as I was to see him.

"What the fuck?" Was how Eric greeted me the minute our eyes met and as I hurriedly moved towards him with all thoughts of fearing Godric going out the window as I threw myself into Eric's arms and hugged him as tightly as I could as he tried to make sense of this. "What are you doing here?"

"What...are you doing awake in the middle of the afternoon?" I asked back, leaning away from him so I could stare up at that beautiful face of his in amazement. "You shouldn't be up right now."

"I felt your presence nearby and I had to come see if it was for real." He said, his hands gripping my waist so tightly that I knew I would have some light bruising there but I could care less. I was finally back with the love of my life and I couldn't be happier. "Explain yourself."

"I didn't plan on coming home this soon but Molly called me early this morning and said I had to come back. Apparently Mark, my birth father might be trying to track me down and she wanted me home and under your protection before he could try and find me in Mystic Falls." I explained in an almost incoherent jumble in my zest to get this all out before I lost my nerve. Eric's hands tightened even further then before at this possible new threat from my vampire father and so did my grip on him. "So I packed as fast as I could and took the first available flight I could get. And now...here I am."

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but I am fucking pissed off for the circumstances that brought you here." Eric growled in the exact way that I knew he would when we saw each other again. He too was not expecting me to be home so soon after I left and now that he knew there was another threat to get through, he was quickly filling up with anger. "I will seriously kill this asshole if he dares to show his face anywhere near you."

"And this is exactly why I came home, to be protected by someone like you." I couldn't help but smile right then and there. Even with this looming danger hanging over us, I loved that he cared so much to get this angry so soon into our reunion. It made me love him even more as I squeezed my arms back around him and said. "I missed you so much..."

"Do not start crying like you did on the phone." Eric immediately ordered, his hands going to cup my face to tilt it up to meet his and I saw the slight smirk on his lips as he looked down at me. "I don't want the first time we see each other in days to be associated with crying."

"Yea, but it would be..." I was about to say it would be happy crying but I was cut off when I heard the slight rattling of chains from the room below us signifying that Eric was not the only vampire now awake in the house. I looked around his tall form to the door he had left open and stared at the darkness at the top of the steps and swallowed hard. "So he is still down there huh?"

"Unfortunately yes.." Eric reluctantly answered, his eyes flaring up suddenly at the mention of his maker's presence in our house. "But now that you're back, I will have him moved..."

"No, don't do that. At least not now." I found myself blurting out before Eric could even finish telling me where he would be moved to. I wasn't thrilled with Godric being in the house now that I was home, but the idea of moving him when he wasn't himself was even more unappealing. "Think about it Eric. Until he is fully detoxed, then moving him could end up bad. I won't be comfortable but it wont be forever, so just leave him there for now."

"You may...have a point. Godric's not free of your blood yet and releasing him from that room could be the catalyst he needs to run out and cause havoc. So maybe some more time down there won't hurt." Eric nodded in agreement as he started edging me away from the hallway and into the living room. " But you won't have to worry about your safety, I'll make sure nothing harms you."

"I'll carry silver on me until he is out of the house." I warned Eric, knowing he needed to be informed of this as we were almost always touching and I didn't want him to be caught off guard by this. "And if by some reason he is able to escape, then I will fight him if necessary."

"It won't come to that, I promise." Eric assured me, sitting on the first couch he came in contact with and pulled me down into his lap so tightly that I knew we would be here for a while. "Godric will not hurt you again."

"I hate to say it..." I began shaking my head as those scary thought began invading my mind again as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "...but Godric isn't the biggest threat right now."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night, back in Mystic Falls<span>_

_"Elena, do you have any idea where Allison is? I just went back to the hotel and they said she checked out. I know she wasn't heading home and I have no idea where she is. Is she with you?"_

_"Louie, you and I need to talk in person. Can you meet me at Stefan's house in like 20 minutes? They will be out for a few hours so we'll have some privacy."_

_"Ok, I'll be there and you better be ready to explain why she just suddenly took off without saying anything."_

Louie ran his phone call with Elena over and over again in his head as he stood on the front porch of the Salvatore house waiting for Elena to answer the door, anxiously tapping his feet on the stone surface. If he truly wanted to not wait for her, then he would have just barged right on in without knocking. And he could have done it too, Elena didn't live here so she couldn't stop him from entering. But it was not in his personality to go into other people's house without permission, even if those people were vampires. But it didn't mean he didn't consider it as he stood there with his hands in his pockets, desperate to know what the hell was going on. He may not have known Allison that long, but he got the distinct impression that she wouldn't just leave without a very good reason. And since he couldn't get a hold of her, the only person he could talk to was Elena.

"Louie?" Elena's voice brought him out of his stupor and he snapped back to attention just as she stepped out onto the porch with her arms wrapped around herself and her long brown hair blowing in the chilly night wind. Her face held a sense of concern as she stepped up to him and asked. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just don't do well with surprises. " He grumbled, hating that he had been caught off guard like this. He never liked it when he wasn't in control and waking up tonight, only to find out that Allison was no where to be found was definitely out of his control to handle. He looked down at this human girl and demanded. "What is going on? Why is she not at the hotel? Why would she leave so randomly? And why do I sense that you know exactly what's going on?"

"Because I do know what's going on and I will tell you if you just calm down." Elena said through gritted teeth even though he could detect a hint of amusement in her eyes as she studied him intently. "She's ok, Allison just went home earlier today and she wanted me to explain to you why that is..."

"She went home? Back to Shreveport?" Louie struggled to maintain his composure but he was so utterly confused that he did not pull it off too well. "Why would Allison go home when she has only been here two days?"

"Do you remember her telling you about how her birth father had become a vampire while her mother was pregnant with her and how Molly had been having problems with him her whole life and that was why she gave Allison up for adoption?" Elena asked, more in confirmation then for actual questioning. When he nodded that he did indeed remember this bit of information, she continued on. "Well apparently Molly had gotten wind that he was back in the area and he might be trying to track her down. And she feared that somehow he would find out that Allison was here in Mystic Falls, so she called Allie early this morning and told her to get home as soon as she could."

"And that's why she just suddenly just wasn't there when I woke up tonight." Louie nodded, finally understanding the reason for her disappearance and he felt a slight swell of relief that she was ok. But that soon gave way to something akin to anger as his face shot back towards Elena. "Her father is after her? Does Molly think that he will try and cause her harm?"

"I think so. Allie said that Molly has told her he is severely unhinged and would stop at nothing to get what he wants once he has an idea in his head. And she thinks that if he caught wind of Allison's existence anywhere nearby her, then he would turn his attention to her. And who knows what could happen." Elena shook her head sadly, obviously shouldering an immense amount of fear and concern for her friend and this new threat she was now facing. "I'm scared for her. I don't want Allie to have to be go through something awful again this soon."

"I know what you mean, it would be unfair for her to have to suffer again." Louie wanted to hit something, so furious that someone he considered a friend was now in trouble again for something that was not her fault. That poor girl had been through more then anyone should go through in a lifetime. And it never seemed to stop long enough for her to have a decent shot at life. And this wasn't just any kind of trouble, it was trouble from someone who had been responsible for her existence. That carried a far heavier emotional load then anything else before. He couldn't imagine how she was dealing with this. "I have to go back."

"Back to Shreveport" Elena questioned, her eyebrows rising up on er forehead as she looked at him in the dark with a smile on her lips. "You're going to go back to Shreveport to help protect her?"

"I have to, she's my friend and she might need me. There is no question about it." Louie said firmly, standing up straight as he prepared to leave. If he went now, then he could travel a great deal of distance before he would have to seek shelter for the day. Then tomorrow night, he could make the last stretch of the way home. But only if we left now. He looked down at Elena and sent the girl a small grin before nodding to her. "Good bye Elena, I hope we meet again soon."

"I hope so too. Bye Louie" Elena called out just as he stepped down to the grass and looked back to raise his hand at her one last night before he flashed away towards the road and left the Salvatore house behind in a small trail of dust. He would think of nothing but returning to Louisiana and offering any help he could to Allison. She was his friend and he would not allow anything to happen to her, not now and not ever.

* * *

><p><em><span>Out in the woods<span>_

"Well...it seems like we have decision to make now."

"And why do you say that my son?" Helen asked her progeny with raised eyebrows before turning her head as they both stared at the porch Louie had just disappeared from and sighed at what they had just overheard. They had heard the entire conversation and Helen knew exactly what Gabriel was going to say next but subconsciously, she tried to play innocent in the hopes the conversation would go in a different direction. "How does Louie leaving Mystic Falls have anything to do with decision making?"

"No disrespect intended, but I feel the need to call you on your bullshit." Gabriel said with absolutely no shame in his voice as he looked down at her from his great height. It had never bothered her to have him speak this frankly to her and actually she found it refreshing because even though she was his maker, he wasn't afraid to say what he thought about her behavior. And this night was no exception to what she had come to expect of him. "You know you are thinking that now that he is no longer here, you have to decide whether or not to follow him back to Louisiana so you can watch him some more."

"You know me too well." Helen almost smiled at his beyond correct observation of what was passing through her mind after hearing about Louie's talk with the human girl. But it wasn't as simple as Gabriel thought it was. "I have been wanting to watch him a little longer since it has been years since the last time I did this. But then again..."

"Then again, if we follow them back to Shreveport we are setting ourselves for a possible disaster and you know this." Gabriel pointed out after he cut back in, his face showing the extent of his determination to get his opinion out. He shook his head stubbornly. "It's too risky, we have a greater chance of being seen if we go and watch him in his own area. You want to hide in the shadows and stare at him from a distance, then that is fine. I'll do whatever you want me to do. But you are the one who is hesitant to be seen and going there will get us caught."

"I do agree with you on that point, we do run a higher risk of him seeing us if we are in the same area that he calls home. And logically I know that its a bad idea, but something keeps blocking my better judgment." Helen admitted, feeling torn in two directions over this. On one hand, she did believe her child was right. She didn't want Louie to see her and being in his city, would surely get her seen way before she was ready. It should have been easy to just throw her hands up and say that they would move on. But it wasn't that easy, something else was eating away at her after tonight and it was the very thing that was pulling her to go after Louie even when it had nothing to do with him. "I feel ridiculous even mentioning this, but I was just thinking about what he was talking to the human about. You know, how Allison's vampire father might be after her..."

"And your point is..." Gabriel eyed her suspiciously, as if trying to figure out something and then his eyes brightened as if the answer had suddenly just come to him and he shook his head even harder then before. "Oh no. Do not tell me you are going to risk your identity being revealed because you feel sorry for that girl..."

"How can I not feel sorry for her?" Helen questioned, running her hands through her way blonde hair and gripped it almost as though she wanted to tear it out. "Ever since I first saw her with him and knew what she was, I feel drawn to watch over her because she is one of my kind. I feel like I have to protect what I use to be."

"I don't understand why though."Gabriel frowned, his arms crossing over his broad chest in a hurry. "You don't even know this girl so I don't get why you feel like you have to make sure she is safe from anything."

"You wouldn't understand." Helen waved her hands as they started moving back deeper into the woods where they would be shielded from view. "I've never felt like I was pulled to do something good. I always did what I wanted without any care about anyone else. But now this girl has a link to my past and I just have to keep an eye on her.."

"Make me understand then." Gabriel insisted, taking her arm and pulling her to an immediate stop. "You're my maker and what is important to you is important to me by default. If we are going to follow not only Louie but this girl back to Shreveport, then I want to just understand why."

"If her father does indeed come after her, I have to try and at least keep her safe. I don't want what happened to me to happen to her..." Helen answered, her eyes drifting away to the half moon hanging in the black night sky. This was one of the rare times she spoke about her own background as a vampire and she was only doing it out of necessity to make her progeny understand where she was coming from. "Her father might try and change her into one of us. And being turned into a vampire against your will is something you never get over. I would know."

"Ok, I get why you feel like you need to protect her but it still doesn't mean you need to follow through and do it." Gabriel retorted, still looking like he was going to offer up resistance. "You're not obligated to help her just because she's a Faerie."

"It's not just the Fae connection that drives me to do this." Helen said with a grimace, not liking that she was treading in such deep waters as she was right now. But it was too late to turn back. " It goes way beyond the fact that she's a Faerie. It's more then that..."

"Oh dear God...It's because of Louie isn't it?" Gabriel rolled his eyes so fast that there was only a blur of white to be seen in the darkness as he stood there with his hands settled heavily on his hips before frowning deeply. "Why does it always go back to him?"

"I've been following him for a thousand years and it's because of her that I've seen him smile for the first time since my supposed death." Helen explained, feeling her eyes starting to rim with that heavy feeling of blood and she blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. "She means something to him and if she can make him smile like that, then I have to look after her from a distance."

"Alright, you made your point I suppose..." Gabriel sighed, his fingers curling up tightly before his entire body relaxed into submission. "So I guess we're going to Shreveport then."

"Yes we are but just like all the other times before this, we remain in the shadows unless absolutely necessary." Helen warned him now that the decision had been made. Just because they were still going to be keeping tabs on Louie and Allison it didn't mean that they were going to reveal themselves just yet or any time soon. But if the situation called for it, then that was a different story. "We won't be seen unless it is a life or death situation."

"Oh this is going to be an interesting journey, that's for sure."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"Where's your mind at my little Fae?" Eric asked me later that night as we sat together on the couch in front of the fire as we had been doing since he had woken up upon my arrival back in the house. I had tried to get him to at least go back down stairs until night fall, but he wouldn't have it and insisted on staying at my side for the rest of the night. I couldn't deny that I loved that he refused to leave me alone, I had missed him a lot in the 48 hours I had been gone and it was nice to be able to just lay in his arms again as if there ad been noting that had driven us apart in the first place. But when he had questioned me about where my head was at, I found myself actually pulling away from him with a deep set frown on my face that made him ask "What? What did I say?"

"Don't call me little Fae, Godric use to call me that." I grumbled rather loudly without even thinking, knowing that although Godric was still silvered down in the basement, he could still hear everything we were saying. And although I was still so incredibly angry at him, I didn't want him to hear the animosity in my voice as I talk to his progeny about him. "I don't like it anymore."

"I didn't know. I was just trying to get your attention." Eric replied, his lips pressed together into a tight line as if he were fighting back the urge to ask me something that he knew would bother me and a second later it seemed like his self control won out because he simply shook his head and asked me something else entirely. "So...what are we going to do? Or more importantly, what do we need to do?"

"I know I should have called Sookie and told her and Bill that I was home and about what's going on but I just kind of wanted a night to just you and me." I explained as I began rubbing my temples at the thought of what I should have done and what I should be doing now. But I just got home and the thought of having to jump right into fight mode was not at all appealing to me. I remembered that feeling all too well and I just wanted one night before I would have to revisit it again. "I'll get in touch with Sookie and Molly tomorrow and figure out what we should do. But for tonight I just want to be with you."

"I can't say I hate that idea." He smirked in satisfaction, obviously showing that he had been hoping I would chose that route as he pulled me back to his side. "But even if trouble does find you tonight and your birth father by chance somehow finds out where you are, then you will still be safe. He can't enter the house and you will have me to watch over you and possibly even Godric if we need him..."

"Yea...maybe." I mumbled, turning my head so I could look over my shoulder through the doorway on the other side of the room that offered me a clear view of the basement door just as I thought of the vampire imprisoned in the room below us. Eric seemed so certain that Godric would be a help if my birth father showed up any time soon, but I wasn't so sure. "But would Godric actually protect me? Or would he be the one to attack?"

"I guess that answers the question whether you're still mad at him or not." Eric shrugged, trying to ease the tension that hung in the air whenever Godric's name was brought up. But obviously my face did not warm up to that so he reached out for my hand to try again. "Godric's not 100% himself, but he has improved and he would help us if we asked him too."

"Glad you're so confident in him because I'm not." I admitted with no shame at all that I had just voiced that I couldn't trust my best friend. Or my former best friend. I knew Eric would be well on his way to forgiving Godric before I could because they were maker and child, there wasn't much that could keep them from talking for too long. Sure it would be a while but eventually they would reestablish a sense of normalcy. I on the other hand was not so sure. I turned my head back to look at Eric and shrugged. "I know you won't want to hear this but he still scares me and I worry about what he may do if he's released."

"Even if he commands me to go down there to release him from the silver, he still can't leave. There's a spell on the room that will keep him down there, thanks to Molly." He explained, running his fingers over the skin on the back of my hand as he spoke. "So either way, he can't hurt you. Not that he would, but know that you are still safe."

"Well that's a relief." I nodded, feeling the full brunt of the fact that I would be safe wash over me right then and I was glad that my birth mother had stepped in and did something to make me feel better about coming home even though none of us could have foreseen it happening this soon. But then again, this was the real world and things wouldn't stop just because I had left town. And that's what lead me to say what I said next. "But I still think I will have to confront him at some point, perhaps even right now. I carried so much around with me since that night and I don't want to hold on to it. So I think I need to talk to him."

"I'll go with you.." Eric started to say but I quickly shook my head and covered his mouth with my hand to keep him quiet.

"You can't come with me, this is something I need to do by myself." I told him, dropping my hand and was amazed that he actually stayed put and remained quiet, which was not like him at all. I got up from the couch and ran my hands nervously through my hair, not believing I was actually going to do this. "I was alone when Godric attacked me. And I want to be alone when I confront him."

I didn't even give Eric a chance to say anything back or to make a move to stop me as I edged myself around the side of the couch and shot out of the room before he could get in my way. I had to do this now while I had the nerve and I knew myself well enough to know that if I did not take advantage of this swell of courage right now, then it would deflate and I would never end up saying what I needed to say to Godric. So I didn't even allow myself to think beyond that initial fear of confronting him and just grabbed the basement door and headed down the dark staircase where the heavy metal door laid shut.

As I took each step closer to it and got further down in the ground, it was beginning to seep in that this would be the first time I had been down in this room since before I was resurrected. I had always refused to come down here because it reminded me too much of my grave and what had happened there and I always felt suffocated at the thought of stepping foot back in this room But even that took a back seat to the mission I was on now as seeing Godric for the first time since the attack was taking up more mental and emotional energy then I thought. So when I finally laid my hand on the door handle that separated me from the room, my heart felt like it was trying to explode our of my chest. And still I managed to push myself to open the door and step inside the dark room before I let the door slam shut behind me.

I didn't have to look far to see what wall he was chained to and even in the near dark of Eric's resting area, I could clearly see the figure wrapped in silver imprisoned on the wall opposite of where I stood. He had to have known I was coming by my conversation with Eric and the sound of my approaching footsteps, but it wasn't until I was actually in the room alone with him did he actually look up and faced me head on.

"Hello Allison." He sounded just the same as he always had, which I wasn't expecting. I thought that after the attack he would sound like a monster or just whatever evil sounded like but he didn't. He sounded like Godric, just Godric and nothing more. It was like nothing had ever happened between us as our eyes fused together.

"Hello Godric."


	28. Throwing rocks, moving mountains

**Chapter 28 Throwing rocks, moving mountains**

"I really wish you would say something..." Godric gently said to me when the silence had gone on for just a little bit too long and he felt the need to break it by essentially begging me to talk to him like it seemed like I had wanted to do since I came down here. I looked up to find his eyes staring at me intently before he said. "You must have something to say, you wouldn't have come down here if you didn't."

"I don't know exactly what I'm suppose to say. I thought about it, about this moment when I would finally speak to you about what you did. And now that it's here, I'm drawing a blank." I admitted, breaking our gaze and dropping my focus to the floor at my feet as moved back and forth on my heels, needing to keep moving. "I was never quite sure how I would put it into words how I felt..."

"How do you feel?" Godric cut in, his voice sounding so full of shame that I couldn't help but lift my head up to look at his face. There was sorrow written there, not something I was expecting to see. "How do you want to react?"

"To be honest, I want to yell at you. I want to scream and shout and just hit you for what you did to me. I want to hate you, I want to be angry. But I'm not." I could hear my voice beginning to choke up already and I was glad there was very limited light down in this room. Not that it mattered, Godric could still see my face in the blackest darkness as well as if I had been under a spot light. But it made me feel better to at least pretend he couldn't because I knew it wasn't going to be long before the tears started falling. I was walking into heavy emotional waters right now, but it was too late to go back to shore. I had to keep going now. "I'm just sad. I'm sad that things changed so drastically with us."

"Don't take that sadness on to yourself. It's my fault, not yours." Godric told me, his voice so gentle and kind that it was the very thing that made my tears start to spill down my face as sobs racked my body. I could hear the silver chains rattling as he moved by instinct to comfort me, but he was stuck there while I stood a few feet away, trying to hide my face from him. "Oh Allison, please don't cry. I can't take knowing I caused you so much pain. I hate what I have done to you..."

"You know what's weird? I keep looking at you, expecting to see a monster but all I see is you. All I see is my best friend." I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, trying my hardest to hold myself together but it was hard. I was speaking the truth to him right now. I always thought that when I came back and confronted him, that I would see this changed vampire who no longer bore a resemblance to my friend. But that wasn't the case. He didn't look like a monster, he just looked like a scared little boy that wanted nothing more then for things to return to normal. But I just didn't think that was possible. "You attacked me, you almost killed me. And God damn it, I want you to look evil. But you don't, you're just Godric."

"I always knew I still had this darkness inside of me and that one day it would come out again. But I never imagined it would be directed at you." He shook his head, his pale face blank and void of any emotion right now as he seemed lost in his own head. "I won't ever forgive myself for losing control like that."

"What happened to us? How did we get to this point?" I questioned as I moved slowly towards the bed next to the wall as my legs were already feeling shaky from this conversation. And I need answers. "You and I were so tightly bonded that I couldn't imagine it ever lessening. But ever since I developed this ability to read vampire minds, it has started to unravel between us and I don't understand why."

"I feared how you would look at me if you knew my past and I didn't want that." Godric admitted, his head turning in my direction as he spoke with a heavy voice. "You knew me as this calm and level headed vampire and that's how I always wanted you to see me. I didn't want to know the disgust and hatred you would show me if you knew just how truly evil I use to be. And when we discovered you had this new gift, I found myself terrified. Never before had it been possible for my past to become knowledge to you unless I offered it, but once you were able to be inside vampire minds, I knew nothing could be off limits to you..."

"And what did you think I would do? Use it against you? Try and hurt you because of who you use to be?" I demanded, furiously that he would think something so ridiculous about our friendship. I would never use someone else's pain as a weapon. "Jesus Christ Godric, are you that fucking stupid to think I would go around spilling your secrets when you don't do it willingly? Of course I would never do that, you know that's not who I am."

"I realize that now, but my fear rose up far quicker then I thought it would and I didn't stop to even think. I just acted." Godric dropped his eyes to his feet, not wanting to look at me as we spoke about this highly touchy subject. "It was wrong of me and I know that. I should have maintained my composure but I didn't and I can't take it back."

"No you can't." I grumbled, looking at his hanging head and seeing the guilt in his body language. How could an act so horrible come out of that beautiful person? How could he not remember I wouldn't have said anything to anyone and he didn't have to attack me? "I didn't tell anyone. After the attack, I didn't tell Eric what I saw, just that I saw something bad from when you were still human. Louie knew what it was when I said it was before you guys were turned, but it was only because he had been there so he knew what I was referring to right off the bat. But I never actually said those words. I couldn't betray your privacy like that, even after what you did."

"I don't understand why would do that. You had every right to divulge all my secrets after I crossed that point of no return. But you didn't, you had more class and grace then I did in a tense moment when you didn't have to. And I will be forever grateful for your silence." Godric shifted slightly, like he was trying to find a less painful way of being encased in all that silver but he eventually gave up as there was just too much. "And it just makes me regret my actions even more when I see all the pain I have brought to your life. You will never know how sorry I am."

"You should be sorry and it's ok for me to say that to your face because we both know I am right." I stared at him so hard that it was like he felt my eyes burning a hole in his flesh and he looked at me again. "I didn't do anything to deserve that attack. I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know that and I so badly want to make things right but..." Godric was well on his way to trying to win me over with some heart felt apology but I did not feel ready to hear it. So I cut him off.

"Don't you dare say you are sorry one more time. This is not about you getting things off your chest, it is about me and I have plenty to say." I actually got up off the bed and went to stand in front of him, closer then I ever had before. "I never meant to be in your thoughts that night. It just happened, it was not in my control."

"I know that, I really do. But just let me..."

"Do you really think I want to know these things? I already have enough bad memories of my own, I do not need to be carrying around other people's memories." I hissed through tightly clenched teeth. It was true, my own life was filled with my own pain and bad baggage. The last thing I needed was to be taking on someone's past pain. "If I could be glamored into forgetting what I saw then I would. But unfortunately, I don't get that luxury."

"This is my fault, I didn't want you to see any of that. I knew it would..."

"No, you know what you should know? That no matter what is in your past, I wouldn't have held it against you. Yes, it may take time getting use to because I've only ever known you as this calm, good vampire, but I would have let it go. I would never have judged you for what happened to you. Or for what you did to those kids. I knew it wasn't you any more and eventually I would have been able to remember that and let it be in the past. But you ignored that logic when you attacked me."

"I should have remembered that but I didn't."

"And you threw away a friendship because of me doing something by accident. Even if I did it on purpose, that would never give you the right to do what you did." I hated how I was throwing back in his face, I hated knowing that I was unleashing this guilt inside of him. But he should feel guilty. He had done wrong and I was only pointing it out to him. But I couldn't help but feel torn about it. "I was never trying to hurt you when I found out these things about you. I was only trying to understand you."

"I know that..."

"But you know what really sucks? Remembering that it wasn't all that long ago when I was sacrificing a part of myself to bring you back to life just so you could return to your life with Eric. I didn't know you that well then, but I was still trying to be a good friend by giving you a second chance at life. And that should have negated anything mistake I made." I didn't even have the energy to yell at him, I could only stand there looking at him and wondering how it was possible that our bond had gotten so tattered in such a short amount of time. How could it have gone from me resurrecting him to us barely able to look at each other. Life just continued to get more confusing as the years went on. "I didn't have to resurrect you because I didn't have the bond with you that I did now or at least use to have. But I still did it because I couldn't bear to see your pain of being trapped there. And then this is how you repay me? By nearly taking my life?"

"I deserve every bit of your anger. I committed the ultimate unforgivable act and I have no one to blame but myself for the situation that is now before us." Godric lifted his head one more time, his normally calm face filled with more pain and anguish then I had even seen in flashbacks. And I knew it was because it was all him who had reacted this way and there was no way to argue out of it. He was accepting what he had done and in some ways I could respect that a lot. But it didn't change anything and he knew that. Because when I started backing towards the door, his eyes shot up to mine pleadingly. "Allison, I don't want this to be the end of us. I want to reclaim the bond we had."

"I don't know if I can do that. Like you said, it was an unforgivable act. And even if I were to be able to stop being terrified of you, I'm not sure it would ever go back to what we use to share." I could only shrug as I made my way towards the door, intending to leave him behind without another word but when I had pulled the door open, something made me look back at him and say. "You were my best friend...now I don't know what you are."

I let the heavy door slam shut behind me as I made my way up the dark staircase, feeling lighter then I had in a while. I guess it was more then a good thing that I had talked to Godric right away. It gave me the chance to get a lot off my chest and while it didn't change anything, it still served its purpose of giving me an outlet for my pain. So when I came back up to the first floor and found Eric waiting for me in the hallway with his eyebrows raised, I didn't even feel the slightest twinge of guilt for what I had known he over heard.

"So..." He began, standing up straight and coming over to me with his hands in his pockets. "Feel better?"

"Actually...yes." I nodded, surprising even myself when I had a smile to back up that sentiment. It didn't mean that things were ok and it certainly didn't mean I was on the road to forgiving Godric. But I felt better then I had in a really long time, so that had to mean something. I looked up at Eric and smiled again before reaching for his hand. "I feel a lot better now."

* * *

><p><em><span>The next morning<span>_

"Stupid...immature...complete disregard for other people's feelings..."

"Ridiculous...absolutely ridiculous."

"What is wrong with you?"

"Is she always like this?" Molly whispered to me from her spot across the table as we both looked at Sookie with wide eyes as she continued to spew venom about how I was crazy for not contacting her the second I returned home the previous afternoon, especially after she had learned that I now had a crazy vampire possibly coming after me and we needed to figure out a game plan. Hence why she and I had met up at this little coffee shop in Shreveport to has out any kind of details. But from the minute we had sat down, all Sookie could do was go on a rampage about me and so Molly and I had just say back and let her go off. It was only after 10 minutes of this did Molly lean over to make a comment. "This is the type of family member I put you around when I gave you up?"

"Great decision huh?" I said back jokingly, watching as Sookie narrowed her eyes at me, evident that she had heard that but I could care less. It wasn't what we had come here to discuss. "Sookie I said I was sorry and I won't ever do that again, but you have to stop talking to me like I am a kid."

"Well you certainly still act like it sometimes." She grumbled, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed tightly like she was still yelling at me inside her head but was managing to hold back from voicing it out loud. "I mean, with what's going on right now, we need to know where you are at all times. For all we know, you could have changed your mind and not taken Molly's warning seriously."

"I did take it seriously. And if I hadn't then I wouldn't have gotten on a plane at all." I pointed out, touched that I had someone like my cousin who bothered to get worried when I didn't contact her right away after traveling home. But then again, this frenzied energy she was putting towards worrying was unnecessary. We had other things that we would need to focus on rather then this. "So just relax and let's talk about why we are here in the first place."

"I agree, there are more pressing matters to discuss and I don't know how much time we have." Molly cut in, taking charge in a way that only a parent could and I was shocked that I actually made that acknowledgment. I hadn't called her mom and I didn't think I would since I had grown up thinking one person was my mom, but I could easily say that she was a parent even in the short time we had been getting to know each other. And if there wasn't a threat hanging over us, then maybe we would have made more progress. Molly's face was guarded as the topic turned to the impending arrival of my birth father. "And actually I don't even know what to do except to be extra vigilant and careful about what ever moves you make. Never go out at night without Eric or Sookie or someone you trust at your side. Obviously night time would be the perfect time for Mark to swoop in and try to make a move."

"But we will be ready if he does. I know we will." Sookie nodded, the confidence she was feeling showing clearly on her face and I was glad one of us was so sure of the plan. "He's only one vampire. How hard can it actually be to take him down?"

"I wouldn't take him so lightly, he's a lot more crafty then you might think even though he is only a 24 year vampire." Molly said, with her lips pressed tightly together and a wrinkle knitting her forehead as I know she was thinking about all the trouble he had caused for her up until now. She knew what to expect of him and we didn't so when she said to not doubt him then we wouldn't. "He may not be as strong as Eric and Bill but he has abilities that they don't."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning as I could practically see something unfolding that I knew I was not going to like at all. "What abilities could he have that others don't? What's so different about him?"

"Well, other vampires were not partial Faes when they passed into immortality, not like Mark was. He was a half Faerie like I was when he was turned and somehow he was able to retain his Fae powers when he became a vampire." Molly explained, stunning both Sookie and I to the point where we turned to stare at each other with the same dumbfounded look on our faces while Molly went on. "So he is able to use that on his side and I hate to say it but it works for him when he wants to get whatever he sets his sights on."

"But it's like you said, Eric and Bill are stronger then he is and I'm more Fae then any of us sitting here, including him. If I have to, I will be able to protect myself when he comes at me." I assured them, not relishing the idea that I would have to attack my own flesh and blood but then I reminded myself that Mark was not like my dad that I had know. He wasn't a kind and generous man who took care of me. Mark was far from that according to Molly. He was harsh and mean and cruel and above all that, he was a murderer. It didn't matter if he was my birth father, if I ever came into contact with him then I would have to react as if he were just another crazy vampire and nothing more. "It won't be as bad as we all think."

"I hope not and I hope it won't take long before we have to do something. I don't know if and when Mark might show up but we need to be prepared when he does." Molly stated, looking at both Sookie and I with the same maternal concern as if we were both her kids instead of just me. She went to reach out for me but I pulled away instantly and I saw the flash of confusion in her eyes. "What's wrong Allison?"

"Are you actually suggesting that we're suppose to just wait until he appears? Are you serious?" I didn't know where this wave of annoyance had come from but suddenly it was there, rising up quickly within me as I voiced a frustration I had only begun to feel the edge of. "So we could be waiting for weeks just to see if he shows his face? No way, I cannot live my life like that."

"I know it upsets you that there isn't much you can do, but trust me when I say this is for the best." Molly was trying to talk some sense into me, I could tell by the tone she used but I wasn't buying it. "Allison, we have a better shot at getting him if we just hunker down and..."

"No! I can't sit around and wait for trouble to find me. It will drive me nuts." I immediately shook my head, I did not want to go along with this. This was the worse possible thing that I could be told to do. I wanted to have control of my life and now I was being told that I had to stay put and wait for something that may or may not happen. And who knew how long that would last. My life had had too many set backs already and I wasn't going to have another. I looked at Sookie and Molly and grimaced. "I won't...no I refuse to be a sitting duck anymore."

"Allie this isn't about trying to hide you away and not letting you be the one to call the shots. This is about your life and protecting it. You have to see the logical reason in this." Sookie tried to be the voice of reason as she always had been the more level headed one of the two of us. But this wasn't like all the other times. I didn't want to do the same old thing. But Sookie seemed to think that was exactly the thing I needed to do. "We don't really have a choice."

"Actually we do. We can go out there and find him before he finds me." I announced, surprised that neither of them seemed to think of this before. I once again did not want to be put in a position to have to fight but it would be different this time around. It was only one other person we would be up against. So why didn't anyone want to go that route? "Why can't we just go and hunt him down and get this over with once and for all?"

"It's just too dangerous to head into the unknown after him. God only knows what he could do if he caught wind of us coming after him." Molly's face showed the extent of how hard she was going to fight me on physically trying to find Mark. We may not have known each other that long, but I could see how stubborn she was. "No...we just need to stay put and wait for him to come to us so we have the advantage."

"It's better this way, it really is." Sookie chimed, her tone overly bright but her eyes showing she knew I wasn't liking the way this was going. "We have a better chance if we just..."

"No! I don't want to hide anymore." I snapped, finally reaching my breaking point and not caring if I was talking way too loud. I saw other people turning their heads in our direction as I stood up and grabbed my jacket and began storming away from the table. I heard both Sookie and Molly calling after me but I didn't turn around and just kept going right on out the door.

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"This is bullshit...complete and utter bullshit." I hissed out loud to the empty yard later that day just as the sun had almost gone down on the horizon as I paced back and forth across the darkening grass, reliving my conversation with Molly and Sookie in my head and being just as furious as I had been in the moment. "I cannot believe they just expect me to sit back and let it just happen. What is the matter with them?"

I just couldn't seem to shake the frustration I was feeling after today. After I had stormed out of the coffee shop, I had come right home in the hopes that I could somehow work off this uneasiness that had taken over me. But it was no use. The more I tried to push it out of my head, the more enticing it was to think about and then proceed to get mad over. I knew that their refusal to want to go after Mark was only coming from a place of concern and it warmed my heart that they weren't afraid to stand up to me and say that my idea was not the best. But the stubborn side of me, the more confident side of me didn't want their opinion on this. This was my life and it wasn't often when I was able to get out of my comfort zone and feel like I could take on more then I normally would. And this was one of those rare times and I was being shot down for it. Couldn't they see where I was coming from though? The thought of just sitting around for days, weeks or possibly months just to see if Mark would show his face was not something I was willing to accept. I couldn't go that long with constant looks over my shoulders at night, wondering whether or not this would be the moment it happened. I would lose my freaking mind and take everyone else along with me. This was no way to live and I wasn't prepared to sit back any more. I was would seize control, I would make them listen to reason. I would...

"Do you think you can keep it down? Your constant waves of anger and frustration just woke me up as if you were standing over me screaming." Eric's came from the porch behind me and I whipped around rather quickly, not even realizing how much time had passed and how dark it truly was. He was standing there against the railing with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised almost in amusement. "Your feelings are coming through loud and clear through our bond. And frankly it's a little irritating."

"You would be irritated too if you had a conversation like I had today." I grumbled, kicking at the ground as I made my way across the yard and to the bottom of the porch steps so I could look up at him. "I met up with Sookie and Molly today and you know what they think we should do about Mark? Absolutely nothing. At least that's what I would call sitting at home waiting for the inevitable moment when he appears. They don't think its a good idea to go out after him at all, they want to wait for him to come to us."

"Ahh, that's the reason for that flicker of emotion I have been feeling in my sleep. Now I understand." Eric smirked, almost looking like he wanted to roll his eyes as if he thought it was funny that I was upset over this. He stepped down to the ground in front of me before saying. "Well you are about to get more pissed because I have to say I agree with them."

"Excuse me? Did you just say that you are ok with doing nothing about this?" I was stunned, truly and completely stunned. If there was any one I thought would be on my side on this front then it would be Eric. HE was always looking for a fight and whenever there was a threat against my life he always jumped into fight mode, ready to rip heads off. But now he was agreeing to sit back? That made no sense at all. I stared up at him with my hands clasped to my hips as I demanded. "Since when is Eric Northman ever ok with just not doing anything?"

"Look at it this way, if it gets out that he has a group of vampires coming after him, then he is going to keep running and that's not a good outcome if we want to bring him to an end. It will delay his true death even longer if we go hunt him. And you want this to be over sooner rather then later right?" Eric brought his hands up to my shoulders, his fingers holding on to me tightly as if he thought I was going to bolt any minute. "At least if we wait for him to come to us, then we can guarantee killing him."

"I cannot believe you of all people is saying the best thing to do is not fight. That is so the shittiest idea you have ever come up with. And that is really saying thing." I had no qualms about telling Eric straight to his face what I thought of his bogus reasoning. Mostly because I knew I was right and I was annoyed that I was meeting resistance at every turn. "Eric, I can't sit around and just wait for him to come find me. I want to go out and find him myself."

"Sorry I can't let you do that. Because knowing you, you will do something stupid that might end up getting yourself hurt or worse. And I would like to keep you around a little longer if you don't mind." Eric's words were playful but his tone and expression were not as he let me and just shook his head down at me as if I were a disobedient child. "So no, I won't support you on going out to track Mark down. And if you keep on insisting on doing this, then I will fight you every step of the way if I have to."

"You are unbelievable, you know that?" I snapped, my eyes glaring into his pale face so intensely that they started to water. I kept looking at him in the hopes that he would magically change his mind but when it became evident that he wasn't going to budge in the slightest, I threw my hands up in the air and stormed away for the second time that day. "I cannot believe this shit."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"You look distracted my child." Godric quietly pointed out to him as Eric held up the last remaining bottle of true blood to his maker's lips and waited for him to finished before it joined the other 5 empty bottles in the trash can at his feet. Eric had come down here after Allison had stomped back into the house to give Godric his nightly supply of blood in the hopes that it would speed up the detoxing process. But that meant it put him in the company of his maker more often in order to get this done that was not something he was thrilled about. Especially when Godric kept on trying to start a conversation with him. "Is it because of the argument you had with Allison?"

"It wasn't an argument, it was a disagreement." Eric grumbled, his eyes narrowing at the shorter vampire in annoyance for bringing that up. "And you should have tuned it out, you're not the only who doesn't like things being over heard."

"Eric, do not start with me on that again. I have expressed my apologies to both you and Allison and there is nothing more I can do." Godric replied in the same calm demeanor that he had always had in the past few years, as if nothing had occurred to bring him down to his current state of imprisonment. "I only brought it up because I see this situation is bothering you and I only want to help."

"No, you just want to get on my good side so I take pity on you. And there is no way in hell that is happening." Eric growled, dropping the nearly empty bottle in the trash and listened with satisfaction as the glass shattered before he looked at his maker. "Besides, you couldn't help me anyway."

"Actually I could be a great help if you would just hear me out." Godric insisted, his face lighting up with something akin to hope as he rattled his chains as if to prove his point. "You need protection for Allison right? Well if you release me from these chains and get Molly to lift the spell on the room, then I can help you watch over her if her father shows up. I know you could do it on your own because of your age. But having two old vampires at her side would be the best protection she could get."

"Well that is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard come out of your mouth." Eric rolled his eyes as he kicked at the leg of the bed set against the wall and almost succeeded in breaking it but all it did was sag slightly as he began laughing sarcastically in Godric's face. "You couldn't even protect her from yourself when she read your mind accidentally. There's no evidence that you would protect her now with this new threat."

"I could if you just gave me that opportunity." Godric retorted, a slight edge to his voice coming across as he seemed for the first time to be losing his composure. Eric knew that Godric felt remorse for what he did, it was impossible not to know that with a blood bond. There was no way that his maker could fake the feelings of guilt and shame that were now radiating through their shared blood, they were just too strong. And even more then that, Eric knew Godric and he had never seen known him to say something he didn't mean. But still, Eric could not find it in himself to just release him this quickly. "You know I would protect her, I know you know that. You just have to get me out of here."

"No. I won't do that." Eric shook his head, closing off any further discussing of his maker's release. He would leave that choice up to Allison since it would effect her most to know Godric was free and roaming around. When she was ok with it, then he would have Molly lift the spell. "My judgment is clouded because you are my maker and after what happened, I don't know if letting you go is the best thing."

"I understand. I get why you feel that way. I have brought such pain to you with my actions and nothing I could ever say would erase that. And if it were me in your position, then I would be reluctant to release me as well." Godric nodded, his face going back to previous state of calmness, only now there was an underlying sense of desperation there. "But I know I have wronged you and Allison and I truly would do anything to fix what is broken. I want to make amends but someone has to start giving me that chance. Or else it will remain as it is now for a very long time."

"I don't want to feel this anger, this rage and this hatred towards you. You gave me second life, we have been together for a thousand years. You are more then just my maker. You're my father and my brother and my friend. I don't want to let all that shatter." Eric confessed, letting down his walls in only the way he could in front of his maker. He couldn't say this to Allison because he would feel too guilty for wanting to fix things with his maker. It would almost be a betrayal to start forgiving Godric when she couldn't. "But you nearly took the life of the only woman I have ever allowed myself to love. And you know I don't let myself get attached to anyone."

"Yes I do indeed know that. And it pains me to know I almost destroyed that for you." Godric's shame was so strong that it nearly knocked him over when it came through. The feeling of needing to be forgiven was there, but Eric didn't know if he could give Godric the answer he wanted. "My child, I just want to rebuild what I ruined. Please give me that chance."

"I don't know if I can." Eric shrugged, moving towards the door before Godric could protest. "I just don't know how we're going to get passed this."

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

I was sitting on the bottom of the staircase on the main floor when Eric came back up from the basement. I knew he had gone done there with a box of true bloods to give Godric after I had left him in the yard and he had been gone for such a stretch of time that I barely even noticed when he did emerge. I was too busy just staring at the front door, practically glaring a hole through it as my thoughts ran rampant as they had all day. I had taken a quick shower so my damp hair was hanging down my back, chilling my spine as I hadn't even bothered with hot water. I was just so annoyed with everyone that I just went through the motions of cleaning myself and barely noticed the temperature. It was only when I was sitting here glaring at the front door did I realize I was chilly. But then again, even that didn't faze me as my head kept running over the same argument it had been in since I sat down here to wait for Eric.

"What are you doing?" He finally asked me, leaning over the bottom part of the banister and stared down at me with a frown that said he had no idea why I was doing what I was doing. "Why are you just sitting there looking at the door like that?"

"I'm contemplating." I answered back honestly, not even having the energy to come up with a decent lie and just went the road less likely to come back and bite me in the ass. "I was debating whether or not to disobey you and leave the house while you were down there with Godric. But obviously I couldn't go through with it."

"I'm surprised you didn't do it, since there have been exact moments where you have gone against me before." He replied with an all knowing smile as he left his post and flashed around to sit down on the step right above me before saying. "You usually do what you think is right."

"I still think I'm right, but I'm a different person now then I use to be. I want to do things differently." I told him, turning my head to look over my shoulder at his waiting face and simply shrugged. "I want to do what I think is right for my life."

"Well that is certainly a change of tune." Eric exclaimed, perking up considerably as a triumphant smile came over his lips. "I'm glad you're seeing things my way."

"Actually I'm not and you would know that if you listened to me. But I'm going to try again to make you understand why I feel the way I do." I fought the urge to reach out at slap that stupid grin off his face because it was beyond annoying that he always thought his word was law and the right way to go. Maybe it was, I don't know. But I knew in my heart of hearts that if I felt this strongly about my situation then I wasn't going to let him change my stance on it. "Eric, before when everything happened to me, I was a totally different girl and I don't want to be her anymore. It doesn't make me feel good. I refuse to be that scared little girl that people think they can just come after and I won't do anything about it. I won't be like that any longer. I will be in control this time around and I won't live my life in fear."

"You have got it all wrong. Of course we are going to fight back and kill this asshole, there was never any question about it." Eric stated as he reached out and flicked my hair off my shoulder. "But going out and tracking a rogue vampire isn't the smartest idea."

"And waiting for him to find me is?" I shot back, leaning away from his touch as a wave of frustration washed over me and I stood up to face him. "Waiting around until he decides to come and hurt me is the smart thing to do?"

"You act like you're in this alone but I have told you countless times that I will watch over you." Eric too got to his feet, towering over me even more since he was on the step above me. I didn't like that, so I climbed another few steps just so we were level and I could see it in his face that he was getting a lot of amusement out of this. "No harm is going to come to you..."

"Exactly! It's my life Eric and you're not the only one who gets to decide how it gets fought for..." I snapped, running my fingers through my damp hair as I always did when I was getting too full of emotion. I glared deep into his blue eyes. "I have a say in this too, you know."

"I would hope you would have input since it is your life." Eric said it in such a way that I could tell he was mocking my last statement and that made my frustration sky rocket. And a part of me wondered if he was doing it on purpose. "But my way is better."

"You know what? I have had enough of you and I am done dealing with your crap." I was beyond fed up at this point and just like with every conversation today, I turned on my heels and began stomping away, trying to make as much noise as I could while Eric just started laughing behind me. When I reached the landing and looked back to see him still smirking at me, I yelled out. "Don't even think about coming in the room after me. You are sleeping on the couch tonight Mr. Northman."

"You're only mad because you know I'm right." Eric continued to yell even as I went down the hallway to our bedroom. "You'll remember that when you calm down."

"Never!" I shouted back into the air before slamming the bedroom door shut.


	29. For you, I would

**Chapter 29 For you, I would**

It was 20 minutes later when Eric appeared in the doorway of our bedroom and just stood there against the frame with his arms crossed and watched me as I laid flat on the bed and glared up at the ceiling in frustration. He didn't say anything and neither did I. We just stayed in our respective positions in complete silence even though I could tell he wanted to say something. I didn't turn to look at him because I was still kind of frustrated that he was on the same page as Molly and Sookie about this whole Mark thing. This wasn't like him, he was usually the first one to say yes to something like this. Hell, he was the one I usually had to reign in from doing something stupid and now he was changing the formula and I wasn't entirely thrilled with the sudden turnabout.

"Are you still mad at me?" Eric asked, breaking the short silence as I could hear his footsteps walking across the carpet towards the bed. "Or have you finally calmed down?"

"Don't be a smart ass." I snapped, lifting my head up to catch sight of him standing at the foot of the bed with that oh so infuriating smirk on his face that made me want to pull his hair out even more as I sat with a pout on my lips. "I'm not mad. I'm annoyed."

"Well that's an improvement, I like you better when you're only mildly agitated at me." Eric replied smartly, nodding almost triumphantly as if he won this one. "And besides, you're especially hot when you're like this."

"Don't you dare try and win me over with your fake compliments..." I turned my glare on him, trying my hardest to keep it up. But I was actually feeling like I was going to blush from his comment as I always did. Eric had no problem pointing out what he thought of my attractiveness, but that didn't mean I was going to cave so easily despite the smile threatening to take over. "It's not going to work Eric."

"Oh really?" Eric's lips curved up into an even tighter smirk as he flashed over to the side of the bed and laid down next to me, stretching his long form out in front of him before he looked at me and pointed out. "Then why are you smiling like that?"

"Because I have had a rough couple of days and sometimes I react in the most inappropriate ways." I still wasn't entirely happy, but I knew any frustration I held towards him was quickly dissipating once he started trying to make light of the situation. He always knew what to say and do to get out of a fight or a near fight as this was. But still I had to at least throw in one more jab. "You would know a little something about acting in inappropriate ways now wouldn't you Mr. Northman?"

"Can't deny that." He agreed, his lips twitching slightly more but they never gave way into a smile and instead kind of just turned neutral as he said. "Not that I don't love this little banter thing going on, but why do I have a feeling that this charming little mood of yours has nothing to do with me or the situation with Mark."

"Because you know me way too well." I grumbled with a sigh, my fingers twisting through the strands of my long damp hair as I thought about the real reason I probably had reacted more wildly and out of control then I usually did. I cocked my head to the side to look at Eric's waiting face and I just shrugged. "I don't know. I ...might have overheard part of your conversation with Godric and I can't help but feel somewhat responsible for your estrangement with him."

"You really like to feel bad for things that other people do, don't you?" He said, his head automatically shaking like he couldn't quite understand how people worked sometimes. Heck I didn't understand why I always did this, it was just me. Even when people did something to hurt me, I somehow found a way to be sympathetic towards them. Eric's hand went to my leg and squeezed it to get my attention. " Godric is the one to blame for our problems and how I feel about him. You are not at all held accountable for his and I's strained relationship."

"Yea, I get that. But you and Godric were this tightly bonded maker and child, more then any other vampires I have ever seen. It was that way for years, long before I came along." I couldn't believe I was going this route, I couldn't believe I was actually giving Eric the impression that it was ok to forgive Godric. But that's exactly what I was doing. I had heard the pain in his voice when he had been talking to his maker and I knew how much it was hurting him to have to keep Godric down there. And it was all because of me, granted it wasn't my fault but it was still my involvement that had lead to this. "You loved him long before me and then I show up in your life and you become so attached to me that you let your bond to Godric disintegrate over this one mistake."

"Yea, it was one mistake, but it was a huge one.." Eric's face twisted into confusion, him now the one that was thrown by this sudden turn and that did not happen all that often. There wasn't much that could faze Eric but this certainly did as he sat up next to me. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying, don't lose Godric over this." I retorted with my eyes directed down at my toes. I was still stunned that I was actually going to suggest what I had in mind. But this wasn't about me, it was about Eric and he needed this. I looked back at him again with pressed lips and said. "If you want to forgive him, then you should."

"I can't do that, it would be a betrayal to you..." Eric's mouth fell open like he couldn't believe I actually had the audacity to suggest this and that perhaps I really was losing my mind. Maybe I was, but I had a feeling that this was the right thing to do. But Eric didn't catch that sentiment. "How can I forgive him for this?"

"I don't know." I answered as honestly as I could because I really didn't know. How did you go about forgiving someone for nearly taking your life? And in Eric's position it was more difficult. I was the woman he loved, but yet it had been his maker who had done this. A maker he had been with for a thousand years. That just made things messier, but not impossible. "Eric, I may not be able to forgive him any time soon,but you can."

"You are out of your mind." Eric said with no restraint as I knew he would. He had always been a little behind when it came to see how people's emotions worked so I wasn't shocked that he wasn't catching on to what I was getting at. "How can you sit there and tell me it's ok to forgive the vampire who almost killed you?"

"Because I can tell how much it pains you not to have him in your life the way he use to be." I explained, reaching over to touch Eric's hand with my fingertips, feeling his cold skin underneath my warmth. While I was far from making peace with Godric, I wanted Eric to do it because it was what I knew he wanted, he just needed to know I was ok with it. "I love you enough to put aside my own feelings about him and let you do whatever you need to do for yourself."

"I love you for saying that, but it's not just about you. I'm mad at him too for what happened." Eric insisted, reaching his arm behind my back so he could pull me right into his lap before he leaned his chin against my shoulder and said. "I don't know how to let it go."

"It's different for you, you can move passed this because of your history with him and it wasn't you he attacked. It's not about letting it go and it's not about forgetting, because we'll never forget." I knew that much was true. Whether I forgave Godric or not, whether he and I were ever able to be friends again was , I would never be bale to forget what he had done to me. But somehow, someway we would find a balance again. "But we do have to forgive, even I can tell he's remorseful. It will take longer for me but not for you. You're already on the way to forgiving him and that's ok."

"I guess it's something to consider." Eric sighed, still not sounding entirely convinced that this is what he should do as we settled into each others embraces just when I began yawning. I knew sleep wasn't going to be far off for me after tonight's emotional journey and Eric must have known that as he laid both of us down and pulled the blanket over me and fell silent. I laid there in the dark with my back pressed against his chest, letting him think I was letting it go for now.

But in my mind, I was already thinking of contacting Molly in the morning to lift the spell on the room so Godric could be released.

* * *

><p><em><span>The next afternoon<span>_

"I'm sorry. But are you out of your fucking mind?"

I stared at Molly from my spot across the table from her at a coffee shop in down town Shreveport the next day right after I had finished telling her the reason in had called her this morning for us to meet up this afternoon. I didn't tell her why when I made the call, just that we needed to talk. And I think she half expected me to bring up the Mark problem which had been the source of the reason why we met up the last time. But when we were actually sitting and I told her I wanted her to lift the spell so Godric can leave, it actually stunned her into a silence. At least until now.

"Ok...you obviously have some reservations and concerns about this." I nodded, my hands clutching the steaming cup of coffee that I had yet to take a sip of since it had arrived. I wish I could say I didn't see why she would be worried but I totally did. Heck I was even worried even though it was me who had suggested it in the first place. The only reason I had been sleeping at all in that house was because I knew there was no possible way Godric could hurt me. And the thought of letting him go was terrifying, but I had Eric to protect me and I was more then capable of taking care of myself now that I knew what I could expect from Godric. "Look, I know how out of the blue this is..."

"That's putting it mildly. This is out of the freaking ballpark." Molly replied with her hands pressed to her temples as if she could feel a pain coming on. "I just don't understand how you got to this point. What is with this sudden turnabout?"

"I know it doesn't make sense and while I haven't forgiven Godric and probably won't for a while, Eric needs to forgive him. And that's why I want you to do this." I explained, trying my hardest to say exactly how I felt but it was a little hard when I felt torn about this. But I had to keep in mind that this was for Eric, so I pushed on. "I love Eric to the point where I will release the vampire who attacked me just so he can be happy."

"What about you being happy?" Molly asked, her forehead wrinkling into a deep frown as our identical green eyes stared intensely at each other. "What part in this equation applies to you?"

"Eric getting what he wants, even when he doesn't know he wants it, is my part to play. I don't want him to hurt anymore and having to imprison his own maker hurts him." I told her, remembering how heavy Eric's voice had been last night when he was talking to Godric. He hadn't known I was listening or else I'm sure he wouldn't have let himself get that open but I had heard and now I had to do something about it. "So let's just release Godric and be done with it."

"Is this really what you want?" Molly asked me, her face and body language showing the extent of her growing concern and I couldn't really blame her. The daughter she had given up and was just trying to get to know again had only been attacked a few days ago and now I was asking her to release my attacker. I could see why she would be questioning my motives. "Or are you not thinking straight because of the Mark problem?"

"For once, I am thinking more long term and setting Godric free has major benefits." I said with a small laugh, taking a sip of my coffee. "You know I'm right."

"That's true. He would be a major adversary to Mark, as well as Eric would be." She nodded in agreement, her face thoughtful as if she were debating back and forth within her own mind if this was definitely a good idea. "But are you sure?"

"Beyond sure." I stated as confidently as I could even though I was feeling anything but that. "This is something I have to do."

"Alright, if it's what you want, then I'll do it." Molly sighed, her eyes showing that she did not want to agree with me but that there would be other things that needed her energy more then this. "I have some time before work, so let's go back to the house and I will do the counter spell."

All I could do was nod, preparing myself for the change that was soon about to take place.

* * *

><p><em><span>An hour later<span>_

I couldn't hear what was happening down there in the basement when Molly and I had come back to my house, I refused to be there when she was performing the counter spell and instead just took to just sitting on the floor by the front door where she had left me while she disappeared down those dark steps. I didn't know what to expect or how long it would take, but I couldn't will myself to get up and go sit on the couch so I could be more comfortable while I waited. I could only remain frozen here as the silence grew so heavy and loud that it almost seemed like I gone deaf. But I knew I hadn't because I could still hear my slow and steady breathing and the squeak my shoes made on the tile as I kept my knees pulled up to my chest. I didn't know what to do or how to feel knowing that any moment the spell imprisoning Godric was going to be lifted and the only thing holding him back was the yards and yards of heavy silver chains. But I couldn't dwell on that for too long...

"It's done." Molly's voice broke through the haze in my head, restoring my hearing to normal as I lifted my head just to see her shutting the basement door behind her. I hadn't even heard her emerge, but now that she had, I was suddenly brought to my feet just as she came across the tiled floor and stood in front of me. "The spell worked. Once Godric is free from the silver, then he can leave."

"Wow." I was sure my face didn't look as thrilled as my voice sounded but I couldn't do anything about that. I had never been any good at hiding how I truly felt, Eric always did say I had a horrible poker face. But as torn as I was about this, I knew it had been the right thing to do. "Thank you, so much for doing this. I know you don't think it was very smart but it was for the best. And I'm sure if Eric was awake then he would thank you too."

"I wouldn't bet on it." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she hitched the strap of her bag up on her shoulder before looking over me. "Are you sure you will be ok? I mean, are you worried at all about Godric waking up and commanding Eric to free him?"

"Not at all. Eric would protect me and even if Godric came after me, well I'm more then prepared." I responded with a more real wave of confidence when I reached into my back pockets and showed her the chain of silver and the small stake and I had slipped back there while she was performing the spell. "I don't think he will try anything, but if he does then I won't hesitate to fight back."

"Wow, that is exactly the way I would have reacted." Molly chuckled, her fingers combing through her hair half-heartedly before she said. "I do have to take off now, work calls but...promise me you will be careful today. I don't want to regret doing you this favor."

"I will be fine. Don't worry. I will call soon so you know I haven't been attacked again." I assured her as she gave me a worried glance back before she walked out the front door towards her car so she could hurry away. As I watched her go, I maintained the same carefree look on my face at least until she couldn't see me anymore. And then I turned and shut the door, and before I could talk myself out of it, I gripped my chain of silver around my wrist and hand and clutched the stake in my other before I walked over to the basement door and disappeared behind it.

I made my steps fast and quiet while trying to keep my emotions neutral because I was going to be in the same room as him and Godric and I didn't want Eric to wake up. If he felt any kind of distress, then he would awaken even in the middle of the day and I couldn't have that. Especially when I had things to say to Godric and I needed a true test that what I had done was the right thing. So when I was walking across that dark room to the silent and still figure in front of me, it took everything in me to not panic. Godric was in a dead sleep as was Eric in the bed on the other side of the room, and not even my entrance into their resting area woke them. It wasn't until I was actually unraveling the yards of silver did it seem to jolt Godric awake and soon his eyes were meeting mine as our faces were only inches apart.

"Allison?" He asked, his voice full of surprise like he thought he was hallucinating this image of me releasing him from the silver that had held him captive for days. "Are you real? What are you..."

"Don't try and start a conversation. I'm only here to yell you something so listen up and don't try anything funny because I have a stake on me." I warned him, finishing the silver that bound his arms to the wall before leaning down to remove the ones tethering his feet to the floor. I felt a brief flash of fear at him having his arms free now, but I beat it down as I did not want Eric to wake up. I took away that last of the silver, setting it aside as I stood back up and faced a now free moving Godric for the first time in days. "The spell's been lifted. When night comes, you can leave."

"Thank you. Just...thank you." Godric could only seem to manage to express his thanks as it dawned on him what I had done and he made a move as if to step forward to embrace me, but I jumped back and raised my hand so he could clearly see the stake still in my palm. He froze in mid step, knowing that he shouldn't have done this and went back towards the wall. "I know how hard it must have been for you to..."

"I didn't do this for you, I did it for him." I insisted, dropping my tense stance and looked across the room to where Eric laid completely still, frozen in the vampire way of sleep and I couldn't help but smile. He was so peaceful in sleep and if Godric hadn't been here, then I would have curled up at Eric's side until he woke up. But I couldn't do that for a while. I turned back to look at Godric who was still watching me and said. " Eric won't say it, but he needs you and I love him enough to put his needs ahead of my own. And that's why I'm releasing you. So when the time comes, you're going to leave."

"Allison, I thank …." Godric began to say as I started backing away towards the door but he wouldn't get to finish as I cut him off.

"Don't thank me, thank Eric for loving you so much that he can't bear to keep you down here any more." I retorted, feeling my back hit the wall as I inched little by little over to the slightly ajar door. "Good bye Godric."

"Allison wait!" Godric called out suddenly, stopping me before I could leave and when I turned to face him, I was taken aback by the look of shame in his young features. " Will you ever forgive me?"

"Honestly?" I asked, wanting to know if he really wanted to know my answer because I didn't think he would like it. But he nodded, so I said the truth. "Right now, no. I can't forgive you."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"You...are..completely...fucked !"

I barely even cringed when I heard Eric's angry voice erupt from the basement just as the sun set on the horizon. I knew just how incredibly furious he would be when he woke up and found Godric freed from his chains, so I didn't let it faze me as I sat there in the living room on the couch facing the door way just when he appeared with his arms hanging down at his sides with his hands curled into fists. I had been hours for this image and now it was finally here. I actually thought Godric would be the first to leave once the light was gone, hence why I still had the silver and the stake in my lap. But no, it was Eric getting his way as always and there he was in front of me like he want to break something. And knowing him, he probably would.

"Gee Eric, you seem angry about something." I said, probably more smartly then I should have considering his temper was skyrocketing at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"Are you kidding me? I just woke up only to see that Godric is now free from all that silver and I know I didn't do it myself which leaves you to be the one responsible for it. Not to mention, he also informed me that you got Molly to lift the spell so he could leave." Eric recounted in such a way that I know he was just daring me to make a comment that would invite a fight. But I would not rise to it because I didn't think I did anything wrong. But Eric clearly did. "What is the matter with you?"

"I had to do this, for you. Because even though you will never admit it, you need Godric in your life like he was before." I insisted, setting aside the silver and wood and got to my feet so I could meet him in the doorway. I needed him to trust me on this. I let him have his way last night and now it was my turn. "Eric, he's your maker and I know you want to forgive him and you should. Even if I can't."

"So you go and do this behind my back. That's just perfect!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he seemed unable to go beyond that to express his frustration over this. So I took a chance and jumped in.

"This was the right thing to do and you can't deny that you are happy that I did it." I told him, looking up at his barely controlled face but seeing in his blue eyes that there was a flicker of relief and that's how I knew he was happy about this. But his stubbornness wouldn't allow him to say it. "I don't regret this..."

"I don't want to interrupt, but I just want you to know I'm leaving." Godric's voice came out of nowhere, surprising both Eric and I as the older vampire suddenly appeared in the hallway with us and I nearly jumped back, my eyes staring at him hard. I felt like I had run head on into a brick wall,all the blood draining from my face and leaving me almost cold as I was suddenly faced with the now freed vampire who had attacked me almost a week ago. Godric didn't make a move towards me but he did speak again. And it was directed at me. "Thank you for your selfless act. I won't forget it."

"Wait!" I yelled just as Godric was turning on his heels to go out the door but when I surprised both him and Eric by stopping him, they both looked at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was but that didn't mean crazy was wrong. I turned my attention to Eric, who was staring at me in confusion before I said. "Go with him. Go spend some time together so you guys can bond again."

"Once again you are spouting off crazy talk." Eric was clearly taken aback by this statement of mine and it showed all over his face. But once more, his eyes gave away his true feelings, even as he tried to protest. "No. I can't do that. I won't..."

"You can and you will. You need to do this." I insisted, leveling him with a stare that said to not go against me on this. I knew how much it would mean to him and he just needed the push from me to know it was ok. " Eric, just go. It won't bother me if you want to go with him. This is not about me anymore. It's about you. And if you go, I promise I won't let it make things weird between you and I."

"You're serious?" Eric frowned, clearly doubting my ability to hold truth to my words. "You can do that?"

"For you, I would do anything." I smiled, for the first time feeling 100% ok with what I was telling him to do. It didn't matter how I felt about Godric or our situation. If telling Eric to re-bond with his maker was going to make him happy then I would do anything to make that happen. "Go."

Eric seemed unsure as the three of us stood there. Godric remained in his spot by the door, watching Eric and I as we argued back and forth. Eric however looked torn between staying here with me or going with Godric. He looked me, searching my face before looking at Godric and then back at me. I couldn't read his mind but the feeling came loud and clear through our bond.

"Give me an hour?" He asked finally, touching his hand to my face as if needing contact for true confirmation just as our eyes met. "I will return to you in just 60 minutes."

"Take all the time you need." I flashed him another smile, laying my hand flat against his and pulled it away from my cheek and nodded towards the door. "Go, I'll be waiting for you when you get back."

"You really are the best." Eric smirked, leaning down to kiss me briefly before stepping back and flashing out the front door behind Godric and left me alone in the house truly for the first time in a while.

I stood there for a moment just soaking in the immensity of this night. I knew I had done a good thing. I had put aside my own feeling and did something for the greater good. And Eric was the greater good. He was getting his maker back because I had been selfless enough to set him free. Eric wouldn't have judged me if I said I wasn't comfortable with settling Godric loose and he would have left it at that. But I was sympathetic, I was a pushover. And when I saw an opportunity to do something to make someone happy then I did it without regard for how it would affect me. I was too much of a people pleaser and one of these days it would not be beneficial, but luckily that day was not today.

_Ring...ring...ring.._

"Of course, the moment both vampires rush off and leave me alone, someone rings the doorbell. That's just great." I grumbled, as I made my way over to the door. I had been prepared to go upstairs and do some reading before jumping into bed, but the arrival at the door prevented me from getting what I wanted as usual. So when I reached for the door knob to yank it open, I was already frowning. But when I caught sight of the figure standing in front of me, I felt my face go cold for the second time that night as my eyes got wide.

And I gasped.


	30. Nothing left to say

**Chapter 30 Nothing left to say**

"Well aren't you going to say anything? Or are you just going to stand there?"

"Louie!" I exclaimed, finally coming to my senses and getting over the shock of seeing him at the front door and before I could even stop myself, I moved forward and threw myself into his arms. I must have taken him by surprise or he just wasn't use to being hugged because when I wrapped my arms around him, he just stood there in actual confusion as I squeezed his hard body as tight as I could manage. "Oh my God I am so glad you're here."

"Well this is quite possibly the best reaction I've ever gotten in my life." Louie told me, his voice saying he was stunned but clearly pleased and he finally lifted his arms and hugged me back a lot more gently that I was hugging him. But then again he was a vampire and if he squeezed any harder then he would probably break my spine. "Sorry for showing up so late but I just..."

"No no, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Come on in." I waved my hand inward with a smile when we pulled away from each other and allowed him to pass into the house before I did. I followed quickly, shutting the door with my foot as I motioned him into the living room after me. "Look I'm sorry for taking off so suddenly, but I didn't have a choice. Did Elena explain everything to you?"

"She did and I tried to get back as fast as I could but I did have to go to ground during the day and that delayed my return for a while." Louie explained, sitting down on the couch next to me with his arm stretched out straight across the back. "But it was because of your situation that I was trying to get back quickly. I wanted to help protect you."

"Really? I mean, don't take my surprise as not being grateful because I am, it's incredibly sweet of you." I was touched by Louie's actions, even more so when I remembered we haven't even been friends for that long and he was already stepping up to protect me from danger. "It's wasn't necessary..."

"Don't even go there." Louie immediately waved my comment off as if it were no big deal when it was. Whenever there was the threat of danger and you are volunteering to step in front of it for someone, then it was a very big deal. But he didn't see it that way. "It's just what friends do for each other. I'm just looking out for you, that's all."

"Ok, you are going to make me cry." I replied jokingly, but I really felt like I was getting misty eyed by his comments. I always knew Louie was one of the better vampires around but hearing it proclaimed by him was something else. I ran my fingers through my hair and said. "Well you came at the perfect time because both Eric and Godric are out of the house."

"Oh really?" Louie was clearly not expecting to hear this and it showed on his face. "How did you manage that?"

"Well, I got Molly to lift the spell on the room today and then I went down there and removed his silver chains myself and told him he could leave as soon as the sun went down." I explained, watching as Louie's face turned from surprise to pure shock. And I could see why. I had been terrified of Godric when I left Shreveport and to admit that I was the one who had released him upon my return was just so polar opposite in terms of state of minds. "And then tonight as he was leaving, I told Eric to go with them so they could bond again. And they literally left just a few minutes before you showed up."

" You actually told Eric it was ok to go hang out with the vampire who almost killed you?" Louie asked, his eyebrows raising in disbelief at my explanation before he looked like he wanted to laugh. "Well aren't you a good little Faerie girlfriend."

"I'm the best and Eric knows it." I chuckled, pulling my legs up to my chest as I looked at my friend and shrugged. "I don't know, it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Eric must be incredibly grateful for what you did. It couldn't have been easy for you." Louie replied in that same calm demeanor that I trusted in him more then Godric. "Do you regret it?"

"I'm not going to lie, I thought I would once I saw him up and moving around freely. But then I realized that despite how I feel about Godric, it was more important for Eric to make peace with him then anything else." I confessed, knowing that it was not about me anymore and I had to put aside my own grudges when it came to dealing with Eric and Godric as a whole. They had been together long before I came into the picture and I would do whatever I had to do to make sure they fixed things with each other. I looked at Louie and said. "No, I don't regret it."

"You're way too good and nice for a bunch of old vampires like us." Louie shook his head with a smile.

"You're the only one who hasn't been rude or mean or homicidal." I pointed out, knowing that while he probably did have faults, he hadn't shown them to me yet and something told me he had better control over that side of him then Eric and Godric did. "I think you'll be one of the good ones."

"Hey! Give me more time and I'm sure I can disappoint you in some way." Louie pretended to be offended about his goodness but he couldn't keep it up as we both dissolved into laughter. "I can be a bad vampire."

"I doubt it." I rolled my eyes at him before saying. "I have a good feeling about you."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"You haven't said anything since we left your home." Godric pointed out to him like Eric didn't already know how long there had been silence between them since they had decided to slip away and talk in private. But as Godric made it known, there hadn't been any talking so far. So he was obviously taking it upon himself to move things along. "Do you plan on talking at all?"

"I'm trying to process my thoughts about this situation but I'm finding it extremely hard to put it into words so give me a freaking break." Eric found himself snapping at his maker before he could stop himself. He didn't want it to end up in yet another fight but he wasn't able to harness his anger towards Godric just yet. And add that in with the flurry of emotions going through him right now and it did not help matters at all. "I don't like admitting when I don't know what to do but right now I have no choice. Because I have no fucking clue how we're suppose to fix this."

"You're not the only one who is unsure my son. I too am baffled about where we go from here." Godric answered back quietly, his hands stuck in the front pockets of his white linen pants as they stood apart from one another. "I did something beyond what any of us thought I would do. So it will be a wonder if we ever manage to get back some resemblance of our previous relationship."

"You have to see where I'm coming from though. You may be my maker and I will always have a stronger bond with you then with anyone else but you need to understand that it's not just us anymore." Eric retorted, keeping his hands behind him as they started to curl up the moment he spoke to Godric. "Allison's in the picture now as well, and she's going to be there because I want her to be. You know how tough it was for me to get to that point. You saw me for the past 1,000 years, I never got close to any woman. But now that I managed to do that with Allison, I will not lose her. And especially not by your hands."

"I understand that." Godric responded with nothing more then a nod of his head. "I will never forgive myself for almost taking away the only girl you ever loved. And what makes it worse is that she was my friend too and I hurt er in a way that I never meant to. But I did and I can't take it back."

"No you can't." Eric hissed, his tone a lot harsher then he thought it would be but he didn't bother reigning it in because Godric truly did deserve every bit of criticism coming his way. "She looked up to you, she loved you. Fuck, she resurrected you. And not even a year later since you walked out of that tomb, did you turn around and almost kill her. I still have trouble wrapping my mind around that."

"You think its any easier for me? I haven't been violent towards an innocent person in a very long time. You know this. And I prided myself on having that kind of self control. So how do you think it made me feel to know that I failed not only her but myself? Well I will tell you, it fucking sucked!" Godric snapped, not sounding at all like the easy tempered vampire they all knew but then again, everyone had a breaking point and Godric had been at his. "I never wanted to give in to my dark side ever again and then suddenly I did and I hate myself for it."

"What exactly did she see to make you lash out? Because she never told me and I don't know what you could possibly be ashamed of to make you hurt her." Eric frowned, almost annoyed when he thought back to the fact that is Allison knew more about Godric's past then he did. And he didn't like that. "Why wouldn't she just tell me?"

"Because I think she knows how much I want it to just stay to myself but that is not possible now that she knows. But she won't tell anyone else, including you because in her own way, she is still trying to protect me from myself." Godric shook his head as if he were more talking to himself then to Eric. "She's been too good to me and I have never been as good to her in return. But I can't take back the past, I can only hope to do better in the future."

"No one expects you to be perfect all the time. Maybe its trying to keep up that perfect image all the time that lead you to exploding so viciously like you did. Face it, you have a darkness in your earlier life, we all do. But ignoring it like it doesn't exist is not helpful, it only delays the inevitable." Eric tried his best to remain neutral and it took every ounce of strength in him to not start yelling like he truly wanted to. But fighting could only work so much before it just became a routine activity. Perhaps going against his nature might work better. "You don't have to be perfect, it won't make me or her look at your differently. She might even respect you again if you didn't try and pretend to be something you're not. Especially when she knows you're far from perfect."

"I guess you might have a point. Trying things differently seems to be the best approach if we want to change things." Godric's eyes were clear but lacking in emotion as he spoke. "Do you want to change things?"

"I don't think it will easy and it won't happen any time soon. But I do want to change things. I just need you to accept that it won't happen overnight." Eric wasn't going to sugarcoat it. He knew it would take more then a few nice words and comments from his maker to fix what was broken, but he was willing to try. And his answer should have sparked some hope in his maker's eyes but there was nothing except the same emptiness that had been present all night. "What is it?"

"Sometimes I think it would have been better if I had met the true death. Then none of this would have happened." Godric replied in a voice that was so incredibly heavy, that had Eric had a heart, it would have broke at that moment. "If my soul had never been cursed then I would have been able to leave this world and not cause trouble. But now I have to live in it with a cursed soul because of what I did."

"Don't speak of that, it's not fair for you to bring that up." Eric snapped, feeling an almost vile like feeling rise up in his throat at the mention of his maker being permanently gone. Yes Eric was mad, yes he was betrayed , but nothing Godric ever did could make Eric wish his maker had met the true death. "You're still here for a reason and you're going to make the best of it. You can make amends if you just choose to."

"I do...i do want to make amends."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back at the house<span>_

"So are you mad that you had to leave Mystic Falls so soon after you got there?" Louie asked me later that night as we sat together out on the back porch where we had moved to about 20 minutes earlier to enjoy the calm night air while we caught up. "I mean, when I talked to Elena that night, she was upset enough for two people."

"That's Elena for you." I smiled at the thought of my young friend back in her town and how she so easily wore her feelings right out there on her face. She was like me in that way, neither of us could keep our feelings under wraps. Perhaps that was why we got along so well. "I mean, I was kind of pissed because I had planned on being there for at least 3 more days so I would have more time before I would have to deal with Godric again. But I couldn't see this problem with Mark coming and I had to be smart about it. So if I'm told to get on a plane then that's what I do."

"Well at least once everything is all settled then you can go back and have a more calm vacation like you were suppose to." Louie said, sitting back on the porch steps with his elbows behind him for support. He turned towards me with a smile but once our eyes met I started laughing and it confused him. "What?"

"You don't know me all that well." I chuckled, shaking my head so my long hair fell over my shoulders. "Things are never truly settled and calm in my life. There is always something popping up to shake up trouble."

"I guess you're just lucky like …." Louie began to tease me but his face soon turned swiftly ahead as he jumped up straight to his feet and in front of me like something was about to attack and he was trying to protect me. It wasn't until a second later when I was also up on my feet and looking over his shoulder did I hear a rush of wind and both Eric and Godric suddenly appeared at the bottom of the steps causing me to jump back in surprise as Eric looked up and met my face with a frown. Louie was the first to say something at their arrival. "What the fuck?"

"Uh, I live here moron." Eric hissed, his eyes instantly narrowing when he took in the protective stance Louie had put in his path towards me. "I think the question is, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"I heard about the situation with Mark and I came back as soon as I could to help look out for her." Louie explained, looking over his shoulder at me with a small smile that I returned and only seemed to further piss Eric off. "So calm down, I'm only trying to protect her."

"That's my job, not yours." Eric growled, looking almost jealous as he always did whenever another vampire stepped up to protect me other then him. He didn't like it and he always felt like if there was any danger coming at me then he had to be the first one in front to protect me. And he took it personally when someone else did that. He looked back at Godric and then back at Louie. "You can step aside now, we're not the enemy."

"You sure about that?" Louie questioned, turning his head in the opposite direction and stared right at Godric who visibly shrunk back in shame as he wouldn't any of us in the face and especially not me. Louie eased up his stance and crossed his arms with a frown before saying. "You were suppose to be gone already."

"I was but I caught wind of your voice from the distance and I decided to come back with Eric to speak to you about something." Godric stated, his eyes still not looking at anyone in particular and that's probably a good thing since all three of us had a problem with him. "I was hoping we could talk privately."

"Yea, like that's going to happen." Louie scoffed, turning to look at me for confirmation like this sounded just as stupid to me as it did to him. But I wasn't entirely sure about that, as I had always wanted these two to talk long before the attack happened. And maybe this was their chance to work things out. So I just looked back at Louie with what I hoped was a go ahead and do it kind of look. He must have sensed what I was telling him to do because he just rolled his eyes and grumbled "Fine. Goodbye Allison."

I barely had a second to wave my hand in response before Louie shot straight across the yard and took for the woods. Godric nodded to Eric and I before following suit just as quickly and soon it was only the viking and I left there in the now chilly night. Eric's body language had loosened up now that Louie was no longer here and when he turned to look down at me, I could see there was a sparkle in his blue orbs that made me happy. Perhaps forcing him to hang out with Godric did end up doing some good.

"So, I guess you have me for the rest of the night just like we wanted it to be." He said with a small smirk as he stepped up onto the porch with me and reached for one of my hands. "Any suggestions for what we should do?"

"I think I have an idea."

_30 minutes later_

"You are more relaxed right now then I have seen you in a very long time."

"Well, it helps to be lying in a nice warm bath with my favorite vampire, if that doesn't relax a girl then I don't know what will." I mumbled quietly as I tilted my head back against Eric's shoulder and sighed happily. Upon going back into the house for what would probably be the rest of the night, I decided it would be the most fun if we took a bath together, something we hadn't done in a very long time. And once the clothes were and we had emerged ourselves under the hot water with me sitting on his lap with my back against his chest, I knew it was the right way to end the night on a good note, well almost. "Now shut up so I can enjoy this."

"You are so sexy when you try and boss me around." Eric teased, lightly nipping at my shoulder before going silent, tightening his arm around my waist as we settled into a calmer state then we had been in when we first reunited over half an hour ago. But of course Eric couldn't stay quiet for long. "Allison..."

"Eric, are you honestly incapable of a few moments of peace?" I asked teasingly, turning around in the water so I could face him with a smirk of my own as I placed my hand on his shoulders. "I promise we can do whatever you want if you just give me like 20 minutes of peace and quiet."

"I just wanted to say one thing that I've been wanting to say since I got back. Just let me say it and you have my word that I will shut up." He held up his hands almost mockingly and it made me wonder if this was just a way to give him an open door to say something else that was not as serious as he was making it out to be. But the longer I stared at him, the more I doubted that so I was willing to give him the benefit and I just sighed and nodded. He smiled triumphantly before saying in a much more serious tone. "So...what you did tonight, forcing me to go after Godric and talk to him, I just wanted to..."

"You're welcome." I finished, already knowing what he was going to say before he even had to say it and it wasn't because I was reading his mind. I just knew him that well. I moved forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and said into his ear. "I love you and I know you still love Godric. I was just doing what I could to push you two back together."

"Thank you for doing that. I probably won't say it often enough but I am grateful for what you did." He said, squeezing me back, pressing his lips against my neck. "And I love you too."

* * *

><p><em><span>Out in the woods<span>_

"You wanted to talk...so talk."

Godric stared across the moonlit clearing in the woods at his former best friend and struggled to find the words to express what he wanted out of this talk. It was hard to do, not just because of what had happened with Allison but also because he and Louie had a bad history that far extended beyond this night and the last few days. So that in itself made the moment more difficult to get through. And it also didn't help that he didn't think it would make one lick of difference. If he and Louie couldn't patch things up in the past then what made him think it would happen now? Still Godric had spent a lot of time thinking when he had been locked up in Eric's resting area and now that he was finally free, he want to act on the things he was thinking about. He just hoped he would finally make a breakthrough this time around.

"I don't really know how else to say this so I will just come out and say it. I want to make amends for all my mistakes. I did plenty of thinking while I was detoxing and now I want to try and fix what I destroyed." Godric explained, thinking back to his conversation with Eric and how his child had pointed out that maybe trying to be perfect was what had caused him to flip out an explode. And as he did not want that to ever happen again, he was going to try and gain forgiveness from the people he hurt most in his life and own up to his faults. "I messed up and I know that. I hurt people and destroyed countless lives because of my behavior past and present. But I no longer wish to do that and I want redemption. And not just from you, but from Allison as well..."

"I would hope so, you really out did yourself with her and even I'm shocked. I saw you at your worse moments and in your darkest hour and yet, hearing that you almost killed that poor girl just made me hate you even more." Louie replied, not letting down the mask of anger he had put up since they had left Eric's property. "And you know why."

"Yes I do." Godric said back quietly, bowing his head as he knew exactly what Louie was getting at. Allie was a Faerie and her almost dying brought back horrible memories of another Faerie long since dead and that was probably what was fueling this hatred and disgust at the moment. He looked at his former friend and took a giant leap as he gave voice to that thought they were both sharing. "It reminds you of Helen doesn't it?"

"Of course it does. How could it not?" Louie's face twisted into a frown just as a flash of pain went through his eyes at the mention of the former Fae's name. "Helen died because you weren't there when she was attacked by werewolves. Allison almost died because you did attack her. How many Faeries have to die or almost die at your hands before you have had your fill?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone anymore and I never forgot that I wasn't there when Helen needed me. Despite what you think, those mistakes have stayed with me. I won't forgive myself for what I did to Allison and I certainly never forgave myself for not being around when Helen was dying. That still haunts me." Godric almost shivered at the memory of losing some one so precious to both him and Louie just because Godric had been blinded by his own thirst for blood at the time. He sometimes thought about it, torturing himself with thoughts of how long she had been crying out for help when she never would have been attacked if he had been watching over her like he was suppose to. It almost killed him to think she was in that much pain and it could have been avoided. He might as well have been the one to kill Helen as her death could have been avoided. But she was dead and the only thing he could do was try and mend the hole she left behind in their lives. "Look, I know you blame me for her death and I know that's the reason we have barely spoken in a thousand years. But I truly do want to make amends with you and Allison. Just give me that chance to at least try."

"It's not that easy. You can't just say you're sorry, say a few nice words and expect to get my forgiveness. I lost the love of my life because you weren't there. You were my best friend and you weren't there. I was off hunting our maker so he could never hurt you again and I ask you to do one thing and you failed miserably. That's a hard thing to just forget about."

"I'm not asking you to forget, in fact I don't want you to forget. Because I deserve to have that thrown in my face for the rest of my immortal life because it was truly unforgivable. Its the same with Allison, I don't expect her to forgive or forget, but I just want the chance to try and fix it." Godric muttered, daring himself to look up at Louie and not look away again. "I'm at fault here, I own up to my mistakes. I won't run from it. But at least give me something to fight for."

"I don't know Godric...I just don't know."

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

They ran. They ran far and they ran hard. They didn't look back once.

Helen knew it was going to be a tricky thing to be back in the place that Louie called home, but she never imagined it would be this hard. Especially now that the first time she laid eyes on him, it was when he was with her former love Godric. Seeing the two of them together for the first time caused something to shift inside of her and she no longer was as cautious as she should have been. Instead of maintaining a respectable distance, she moved closer, closer then she should have been even though she could have listened to this conversation from a lot farther away. But she had thrown caution to the wind and was closer then ever before to the vampires she had once loved. They had been so enthralled in their conversation that they were not sensing that they were not alone in these woods. And it was only after they had parted, did Helen grab Gabriel and they sped off into the heart of the forest leaving behind miles of trees before they felt safe enough to come to a halt.

"Did you hear that?" Gabriel asked her when they had finally come to a stop after tearing away from the scene minutes ago and were now staring at each other with expressionless faces, only Gabriel's face was quickly going the way of fury and annoyance. As were his words. "Oh wait, you're a vampire. Of course you fucking heard."

"Gabriel calm yourself." Helen ordered, her voice sounding anything but authoritative as she addressed her progeny in those pitch black woods for the first time since arriving in Shreveport. "I understand your frustration..."

"No, I don't think you do understand. Because if you did, then you wouldn't insist on keeping up this ridiculous charade of hiding out like a freaking idiot." Gabriel's anger burst forth from his mouth, stinging her with it's harshness that she knew she had every right to receive and even more so after hearing the conversation between Louie and Godric. Gabriel had always been the one to never filter what was on his mind and just said what ever was there and tonight was no different. "I thought going along with you on this was the best thing because its what you wanted, but after hearing that conversation and knowing the details, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Gabriel..." Helen began to say but her progeny was determined to have the last word as he jumped right back in again.

"I mean for Christ sakes, Louie blames Godric for you supposedly dying. This whole time you've been a vampire, they thought you were dead and Louie held Godric accountable for it. Their friendship was ruined because you can't let them see you as a vampire." Gabriel hissed, his tall form leaning against a nearby tree with his broad arms crossed tightly over his chest as he stared at her. "Don't you feel at all guilty for that?"

"Of course I do." Helen insisted, feeling wounded that he could think she had no feelings at all about how her actions were affecting the people they had just seen. "I think about it every time I catch up to either of them. Every time I see Louie's face, every time I see Godric's face. How can I not feel the weight of what I have done?"

"Then why are we still hiding? Why won't you reveal yourself? Oh wait, because you're too scared for whatever reason." Gabriel shook his head in annoyance as he stood up straight and walked a few feet away with his hands on the back of his head. He didn't say anything for the longest time and neither did Helen as she knew he was gearing up for another statement and she just had to wait it out. And when he whipped back around, he finally released the one thing he swore he would never ask. "What happened all those years ago? You never told me the background of your life and for the longest time I never asked because I know it pained you. But now I need to know."

"I suppose your patience would have to run out at some point." Helen mumbled, looking at her child through heavily lidded eyes as the moment she had been dreading had finally come and she felt the rush of pure sadness shoot through her as she was now forced to give voice to her anguish. "The night...the night my family told Louie I had 'died', that wasn't exactly the truth. It didn't happen that night, it actually happened two night before he spoke to my family."

"I'm confused, that doesn't make any sense. If you were attacked by werewolves then why did it take 2 days for your family to...wait." Gabriel had began to roll on a tangent but it came to a screeching halt as realization seemed to dawn on him and his head snapped in her direction with an unreadable expression. "You weren't attacked by werewolves were you?"

"No, I wasn't." Helen had to turn away from her progeny as she saw flashes of her past life appearing in front of her eyes. It was one thing to speak about it but once those memories began rolling, it was harder to keep talking when she was looking at Gabriel. So she directed her eyes to the tree line behind him and said. "There were no werewolves around those last 2 days."

"What the hell happened then?" Gabriel demanded, his frown deepening as he was searching for an understanding that she wasn't sure she could give him. "Helen, what happened to you that night that made your family think you were dead?"

"To them, I was dead." Helen managed to get out and before she could even begin to fight it back, a lone red tear made it's way down her pale face as her thoughts turned to her family. Or her former family as they became when they made their opinions well known. Hence why she often didn't speak about her past even to her progeny.

"That still doesn't answer the question." Gabriel pointed out, determined to push the subject so much that it made something inside of Helen snap. She rushed at him out of nowhere, taking him by surprise that he couldn't even fight back as her hands gripped his shoulders and she threw him to the ground.. It happened so fast that she was already on top of him and gripping his throat easily with one hand before he could focus his eye back on her. "Helen, what the fuck..."

"Why do you need to know? Huh? What difference would it make?" She hissed, her more violent side coming out as she glared down at her child who was half her age and couldn't even begin to match her strength as he laid under her unmoving, not use to this display of power from her. She didn't want to hurt him, but her hand did tighten slightly. "My family knew and it didn't make a difference. So what does it matter?"

"It matters because you're my maker and I'm your family now. And I want to understand. So just tell me." Gabriel looked up at her with no fear in his eyes, he knew as well as she did that no harm would come to him at her hands. She may have roughed him up a little bit, but she would never bring him pain and they both knew that. Hence why Helen loosened her grip and released him, allowing him to get back up to his feet before he pulled her upwards as well. His hands never left her arms as he asked. "What happened to you?"

"That night? The night, two nights before Louie thought I was dead...that was the night I met my maker." Helen closed her eyes as she said this, feeling a old pain rise up in her chest that she had been battling back for a thousand years. Gabriel knew that her turning was not a good one as his had been but talking about it now when the situation with Louie as getting tighter and tighter was taking its toll her her more then she was prepared to handle right now. "The first night I met him, I was turned into a vampire against my will."


	31. Call it madness

**Chapter 31 Call it madness**

2 weeks.

It had been 2 weeks since we last spoke about my birth father's possible return and there hadn't been any kind of sign of his whereabouts in those last 14 days. No word from Molly's friend Aaron or her witch friends across the nearby states and nothing from the vampires in the area either. It was like he had that one sighting and that had been enough to make him cover his tracks because no one had seen or heard of him again. Everyone else thought this was good, that this was a victory or sorts because maybe he had moved on and wouldn't bother us. I should have relaxed at this notion.

But I didn't. Because I didn't quite believe that we were truly in the clear.

I don't know why I thought that because usually if Eric and Molly weren't worried, then I took that to mean that I didn't need to worry either. And I tried to apply that to the current situation but as hard as I tried, I just couldn't accept it. Something deep inside of me told me this wasn't over. Not over by a long shot and so I kept myself cautious in case that feeling turned out to be right. I didn't leave the house without someone by my side. I only went out at night if Louie or Eric were with me and I hardly was ever at home by myself even though that was the safest place to be alone. If Mark did show up, he couldn't get in without my invitation and I couldn't be glamored so I should have felt safe by there by myself. But I didn't. I was so certain that something was going to happen that I kept an unusually close attachment to Eric, even closer then normal. Granted because we were who we are, we already couldn't keep our hands off each other, but this was a different story, there was an tense, fearful way I sometimes clutched at his arm when we were lying in the dark of our bedroom and that was not normal by any means. I had been living in anxious fear these last two weeks thinking that any night would be the time Mark would show up but nothing ever happened.

Every day came and every night went with no abnormal occurrence in any capacity. That was a rarity in our world as there was usually always something about to come and stir up trouble for us, so when there was a lull in the threats we learned to enjoy it. But of course I never could as I was always waiting for the other ax to fall and this was no exception. I was starting to get antsy, wondering when the hell something was going to happen so I could stop worrying. It got so bad that Sookie and Molly were taking turns during the days to keep me busy and trying to keep my mind occupied because my head was a dangerous place when left up to its own devices. So I tried to focus on other things that should have kept my thoughts more then distracted.

Like Godric.

In these past couple of weeks since his release from the basement, he had been trying to make the most of his new freedom and his talk with Eric. Because since that night, he and Eric had been trying to get along better and figure out how to repair their bond and I cold actually see it happening in front of me. Godric was making progress with Eric and sometimes I even saw the two of them smiling together which was more then nice for me. Eric was getting happier now that he had his maker back in his life and it made my decision to let Godric go even more right then it had been in the moment. But Eric wasn't the only one Godric was making progress with. Louie too had been on the receiving end of his old friend's renewed attitude. Of course it wasn't as easy as it had been with Eric. Louie still very much harbored resentment and hatred towards Godric and their relationship was coming about a lot slower but that was to be expected. Now me on the other hand he was not making any progress with at all. Not that he wasn't trying because he totally was, but I just wasn't ready to go there just yet. Yes I had let him go and been the one who removed his silver chains myself, but this was more for Eric and Louie's benefit then it was for me. I just needed more time to feel safer in his presence before I cold even begin to talk to him the way I use to. And he even said that to some degree, he would have been acting the same way. So all in all, that was something when it came to Godric and should have been the type of thing to fill my head. And for a while it had,

But just like every night, my thoughts went right on back to Mark and his inevitable return.

I knew it was going to happen eventually, whether it was tomorrow, next week or next year, it would still happen and I would still have to be prepared for that showdown. And any time I thought about it, I got the same nervous shake over my body. Because I knew what I would have to do if he ever showed his face to me. And that in turn brought up the question I had been wondering ever since he had made his presence known.

Would I have the strength to kill my own birth father?

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"You look distracted." Eric said to me that night as we laid side by side on the floor downstairs in front of the fire in the living room as we had been doing since the time he had woken up. And while I was happy to be spending time with him, I almost wish I wasn't because my mind was clearly elsewhere and he wanted me to be present and in the moment and I just couldn't be. He placed his hand on my cheek to get my attention fully for the first time. "What's going on inside your pretty little head?"

"The same thing that is always on my mind. That asshole Mark." I grumbled, pushing Eric's hand away and sitting up quickly with my arms wrapped around my legs and a frown on my lips. "I mean, I'm tired of fucking waiting around for him to show his face. I can't take this anticipation anymore."

"Well at least you haven't had to go 24 years of always wondering that like Molly has." Eric made a point of saying to me, pulling himself up and leaned against the end of the couch with his arm propped up on his knee. "And she seems to be dealing with his constant absences and then presence just fine."

"Well I'm not Molly, I'm Allison and we all know I don't deal well with these things. Or do we not remember the months leading up to the battle with the witches?" I snapped before I could stop myself and see the frown take over Eric's face at my sudden words, it made me want to slap myself. "Oh my god I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember that time..."

"It's fine." He said curtly, already closing off the subject as quickly as it had come up. He did not want to talk about that time any more then he wanted to hear it mentioned and I couldn't blame him. That war had been hard on all of us, but especially harsh on Eric and I as I had been the one to die and he had been forced to watch the woman he loved slip away from him. Neither of us liked to revisit that time often. "Look, you need to just..."

_Ring...ring...ring._

"Hold that thought." I told him, scrambling to my feet to answer the door before he could make a move. He was always the first to do things like this because he was a vampire and he would always move faster then I could, so when I had the moment to do it before him, I always relished in that fact. And that was true as I rushed to open the door before it could ring again. But when I had it open, the person I saw there was not one I was expecting. "Molly? What's wrong..."

"He's been spotted. Mark was spotted in Texas. I just got the call 30 minutes ago." She blurted out, surprising me more with her statement then she did with her presence just as she walked in and Eric came out of the living room as soon as he had heard the words spoken between us. I pushed the door shut and ushered them both back into the living room, knowing it was better if we were all sitting down before we discussed the situation I knew wasn't going to lie dormant for long. But Molly had barely walked over to the couch before she was talking again. "Aaron called me and said he had gotten word from some of our witch friends that Mark was traveling through Texas a day or two ago."

"Well that's good isn't it?" Eric asked with a frown, wrapping his fingers around my wrist and pulled me down onto the couch next to him. He would never admit it, but I could it made him nervous when I wasn't at his immediate side. "I mean if he's in Texas, then he's far from here and that means the crisis is averted."

"No, I'm not sure that is entirely true. In fact, I kind of think it is a diversion, like maybe he somehow planted a fake sighting of some sort to distract us from his real intentions." Molly said, her eyes darting to the way Eric had his arm locked tightly around my waist before she began twisting her hands nervously as I did when I was freaking out. "Perhaps he really did more snooping around then we think and maybe he found out about our shared history with the Dallas coven. And if he did, then he might be heading to find them and he might let it slip that Allison is alive. Because I will tell you right now, it's too coincidental that he was supposedly spotted in the same state they originated in."

"Wow, you two really are mother and daughter." Eric shook his head almost in mock bewilderment as if he had somehow doubted this fact and it was only Molly's freak out that had finally confirmed it. "Allison does the same thing when she over thinks."

" I do not!" Molly and I both exclaimed at the same time, bring Eric to send us both a look that basically said See?

"All I'm saying is that it doesn't mean that Mark definitely knows anything about our problems with the Dallas witches just because he was in Texas." Eric stated, trying to hide his widening smirk as he still probably thought it was funny that Molly and I acted in the same way at times. "We can't go off an assumption."

"For once, he's right." I pretended to reluctantly say but the truth was that Eric had a point. We didn't know for sure that Mark knew anything about his history and going off a not sure thing could be disastrous. "Besides, we have spies in Dallas and if the coven had eve returned there then we would know. But we hadn't heard a thing, so we have to assume they are still on the move throughout the country."

"I'm still not convinced that it doesn't mean something." Molly grumbled, sitting back on the sofa with her hands curled around each other in her lap. Her face showed just how much she didn't believe that Eric and I were right. "Whether any of us are right or wrong, there is still some enemy out there and you need to remain vigilant. We all do."

* * *

><p><em><span>40 minutes later<span>_

_Buzz...buzz...buzz_

"Oh dear God, I so do not want to be dealing with her right now." Eric found himself groaning when he pulled his vibrating phone out of his back pocket and saw that it was his progeny's name flashing across the screen and he had half a mind to just ignore it. But with Allison and Molly's eyes both on him, he couldn't exactly just ignore the call or he would come off ruder then he already had. So he pressed it to his ear and growled. "What? This is really not a good time."

"Of course it's not asshole, because the situation I'm looking at is not any definition of a good time." Pam hissed back just as harshly as he had spoken to her, her voice clearly holding a great amount of agitation as they spoke. "You need to come to the bar before I freaking lose my mind."

"Sorry, can't do that. And haven't you already lost your mind?" He asked for the sole fact that he knew it would push her buttons and there was nothing he loved more that pissing off his child. "Whatever it is, you can handle it. You don't need me there."

"Be nice Eric." Allison elbowed him in the side before sending him a look even though she wasn't Pam's biggest fan.

"Actually I do need you here, the humans are just fucking rowdy, they are completely out of control. They are acting like vampires." Pam practically shouted through the phone and he could almost make out the sound of something breaking in the background. "I mean, these fucking idiots are running around trying to break the furniture to stake us. We tried getting them to leave but because you say no biting on the premises, we had to yell at them and their not budging. They are either glamored or under a witch kind of glamor because they seem quite determined."

"Get Godric to help you." Eric insisted, knowing his maker wold jump at the slightest hint of unusual activity.

"He's already here and he said to call you. And being that it is your bar and you're the boss, we kind of need you here." Pam replied in the sort of tone that suggested she was most likely rolling her eyes. "If you don't care that your business is getting trashed, then I guess I don't care."

"You're so incredibly frustrating. I'll be there in 10 minutes." Eric muttered, wanting to smash his phone on the table in front of him but he simply stuffed it back in his pocket and turned to look at the two female faces watching him. "I have to go to Fangtasia. There's kind of a problem going on there tonight. Pam says the humans are under some kind of glamor control that could either be by spell or vampires."

"It would probably take more then one vampire to do that to a crowd large enough to take control of the bar. But it would only take one good witch to cast a spell on that many people." Molly chimed in, her face already turning dark and untrustworthy. "You know, it seems too weird that we were just talking about the Dallas witches and now there might be a problem with witches at your bar."

"Yea, that's exactly why I have to go there. If there's a problem then I should be the one to wrangle it in." He didn't relish the idea of having to spend the next few hours trying to sort through whatever problem there now was but he really didn't have a choice as he got to his feet at the same time that Molly and Allison did. "Oh no, neither of you are going with me."

"But Eric, if it's witches then Molly can help." Allison insisted, her pretty young face turning stubborn as she stood at his side with her tiny hand gripping his arm. "You can't go in there alone."

"I won't be alone. My maker and progeny are there and they need me." Eric would have loved to say something else with that, something much more inappropriate because of the way she was looking at him. But her mother was standing just 2 feet away and even thought that normally would never stop him before, it was just night the right time. He eyed them both with a stare. "You two are going to stay right here in this house while I'm gone. No one leaves, I don't want Allison to be alone. Especially not tonight."

"It's fine, don't worry." Molly insisted, waving him off before he could even think to grab Allison to kiss her. So he had to settle for simply sending a smirk her way before he shot out of the room and out the back door. He was standing in the middle of the grass, preparing to take to the sky and the only thing he could think about was what was waiting for him at Fangtasia.

"I swear to God, those fucking witches better not have anything to do with these rough crowds or else I'm going to be really pissed off."

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

"So I have a confession to make. And you're probably the only person I can talk to about this." I said to Molly as we were still sitting inside the living room long after Eric had left and the conversation between us was about to head into a different direction then where it had been going this whole time. Or may be not since we had talked about this subject matter before a lot, but when it came to this particular aspect of it, it would be the first ever time. "It has to do with Mark."

"Of course it does, even Mark isn't around he always has to be the center of attention." Molly grumbled, her eyes rolling rapidly at this mention of my birth father and I saw just how much disgust she had towards him. It was one thing to hear her talk about it but it was different to see it in her face. She looked like she wanted to hit something but she maintained her calm composure long enough to ask "So what about him do you need to confess?"

"Well, ever since you first said he had been spotted I have been thinking on and off about how whether it happens soon or later on, there will still be a moment when he and I will come face to face. And with how bad you have said he is, I know he would attack me if he had the chance and I would have to fight back. But the thing is..." I started to say before I lost my nerve and clammed up before I could blurt out what I was afraid of confessing. I knew it was stupid what I was about to say. I mean, if someone is going to attack you before you even see them, you're suppose to be able to say you can fight back without question. But in this situation, I couldn't automatically say that. "But I think when it comes down to it, I don't think I could kill him."

"I think that's where your age comes into play and you still remember that he's your birth father." Molly said in an almost gentle tone that was unlike the voice she used when she first came here tonight. "And no matter what he does, it will be hard for you to have to kill a parent."

"But you could kill him?" I asked, wondering how she felt about having to kill not only her ex, but the father of her first child. "Would you be able to just kill without second guessing it?"

"Yes, because there is only so many times I can let him come after me and attack me before I have to end it for good." She explained, running her hands through her short brown hair and looking at me almost apologetically like I was going to be insulted or hurt that she said she could easily kill Mark with out shame. "Besides, now he might be coming for and I will not let him hurt you. I may not have been around for you but you are my daughter and I still care."

"Oh man, you are going to make me cry if you keep talking like that." I exclaimed, pretending to wipe at my eyes before asking. "But you don't think its all that strange that I would feel conflicted about this?"

"Do you think it's weird?" She asked back with her eyebrow raised.

"A little. I mean, he may be my birth father, but he tried to kill you and he will probably try to kill me too. I should want to kill him right on back without any kind of guilt." I shrugged, my hands playing with the ends of my long hair. "I mean, who feels bad about fighting back against someone who is trying to take their life?"

"A sweet girl like you." Molly answered with a smile that put me at ease almost immediately. "Only you would..."

_Bang...bang...bang_

"What the hell is that?" I snapped, jumping up to my feet when I heard that loud thud that sounded like something was hitting the side of the house from the back of the property. I looked at Molly who had also jumped up into a standing position and was looking at me like she too was trying to figure it out. The noise sounded again and I started walking towards the back of the house. "It sounds like something is being thrown or dropped on the house."

"Maybe it's a fallen branch or something. There are a lot of really old, tall trees surrounding this house." Molly said, grabbing my arm as we walked side by side out of the living room and down the hallway towards the kitchen. The closer we got to the room, the louder the noise seemed to get until it was quite obvious that it wasn't a falling branch, not when it was happening over and over again. Molly pulled me to a stop by the island counter. "Ok, this is really weird. What the fuck is that?"

"It's coming from the back yard I think." I told her, taking back my arm and moving towards the door that lead out on to the back porch and peered through the small glass window to see if I could find the source of where the noise was coming from. I didn't have to look far as I was suddenly startled to see a figure in the grass not too far away from the house. I motioned Molly forward, saying. "There's a guy in the middle of the yard."

"What? Is this some kind of joke?" She frowned, coming up behind me to look out the window with a doubtful expression like she thought she was going to see a bunch of teenagers throwing rocks at the house. But that look soon gave way to one of pure fear as she gasped and said the one thing I was not prepared for.

"It's Mark."

**A/N: And so the moment has arrived. Mark, Allie's vampire birth father has finally shown his face andgod knows the shit will it the fan now! The end of this fic is upon on. probably only 9 capter before this installment is done. And there are plenty of more socks in store in these last few chapters. So stay tuned**


	32. I choose darkness

**Chapter 32 I choose darkness**

"Well isn't this nice to see? My ex girlfriend and my very grown up daughter in one place. How charming?" Mark's voice came clear across the yard after Molly had thrown open the door and she and I stood there eying the figure coming towards us. Mark looked nothing like I thought my father would look like. I kept looking at him, expecting to see some sort of trait of mine in his features or coloring, but there was nothing. I clearly got my looks and personality from Molly in my hair and eye color as well as my body language and mannerisms. I saw nothing of myself in Mark's blonde hair, blue eyed face. Especially not the cruel gleam in his eyes that clearly said he would love to rip one of us apart should we get too close. "It's been a very long time."

"It's been 4 years Mark, and to a blood sucker like you that's nothing more then a nap." Molly snapped, being the first of us to speak and I almost flinched at the harshness in her voice. She had only ever shown me the kinder, more calm aspects of her self. This was the first time I was hearing her sound like a woman ready to fight back and in a way I guess she was prepared to do just that. But as long as we remained in the hose then nothing could ever happen to us. Molly still watched Mark's face as he came to a stop at the bottom step of the back porch. "How the hell did you find us anyway? And it's so like you to pop up when you think you won't have any resistance..."

"Actually I won't have any resistance and you know why?" He cut in, his voice never changing from the chilly tone that had been present when he first started talking. I had gotten a rude awakening when I first saw him tonight. I knew he was evil from the first time Molly told me about him. But I guess the naïve girl in me still thought it would be different once I met him. And now that I had, I felt stupid for ever thinking there was good in him. Especially judging by what he said next. "That little commotion over at Fangtasia with the humans, that was all due to my own hands..."

"You're the one who glamored those humans?" I asked, my mouth dropping open as I subconsciously stepped forward and Molly's hand snapped to my wrist to hold me back from stepping through the doorway. "You caused all that trouble?"

"Of course I did, I am a vampire after all." Mark smirked, his eyes never straying far from my face as he spoke. "You see, I knew if I wanted to get you two alone I would have to draw away the protection of the Sheriff and the other two vampires that you associate with. So I did my research and when I found out how popular this bar was, I went around and glamored a whole crowd of humans into causing havoc inside the building. That way Eric, Pam and Godric would have to be there to regain control. And you two wold be alone for me to play with."

"You are fucking disgusting." Molly exclaimed, her eyes widening in fury as her hand tightened over my arm as if to keep her own self from moving closer. "You are just so damn psychotic to go to those lengths."

"Well thank you. I appreciate that." He replied in the same sort of tone he would have sue if she had thrown a compliment at him. He looked her over from head to foot, almost nodding to himself like he was confirming he was over and done with her before he turned and stared directly at me with an unnerving smile. "Now you Allison, are no longer a little girl. In fact, you look just like your mother when she got knocked up.."

"Back the hell off, you don't speak to her." Molly snapped, edging me behind me to shield me from Mark's roving eye as she faced him. "She's my daughter, not yours. You have no business ever laying eyes on her."

"Correction, she is my daughter too. I helped make her and therefore she belongs to me as well." Mark shot back, the possession in his tone making me peek around Molly to send him a glare, which he simply took in stride and shrugged at in return. He kept looking at me as if I was this shiny new toy that he couldn't wait to get his hands on. "Now why don't come out here and give your daddy a hug?"

"Go to hell!" I exclaimed, having only a second to grab Molly before she jump out the doorway at him. "Molly no! That's just what he wants you to do. Out there, we're in danger. But staying inside keeps us safe. Don't give him the satisfaction of seeing that he's getting to you."

"Listen to our little girl, she's a lot smarter then you were at that age." Mark chuckled as if we were all sharing a good joke when in actuality we were all facing each other down. "And being that I never saw her until now, I think I deserve a little one on one time with my own child."

"You deserve shit." Molly growled, allowing me to tug her away from the doorway even though she could physically over power me. She may have been tiny like me, but she was a hell of a lot more stronger, even more so judging by the fury gleaming in her eyes. "Get the fuck out of here Mark before I'm forced to end you like I should have done years ago."

"Yea, that's not going to happen. I've been tracking you two bitches and I'm not leaving until I get what I want." Mark said with a more evil sort of voice then before as his stare went from Molly right back to me and I could practically see his fangs protruding behind the skin of his lips. "And I think I know exactly what I want. You smell more delicious then anything I have ever smelt before, Allison. Your blood is the rarest of our kind, it's more intoxicating then your mother's was. And I want it."

"Tough shit asshole, you're not going to get it." Molly shouted her face changing so drastically that I thought she was going to dive through the doorway at Mark. But it was him who moved, darting over to the other side of the yard to where a set of chairs were before he sent them sailing through the air. Molly and I barely had enough time to jump out if the way before the chair went crashing through the doorway, successfully knocking the door off its hinges where it clattered to the door between us. I looked at Molly through the settling cloud of dust and saw the anger flaming up in her face as she got to her feet and stood in the door way with her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "That's it."

"Molly no!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet as quickly as I could, slipping on the broken pieces of wood but I was too late. Molly had already stepped out on to the porch, leaving the safety of the house to go out an presumably battle mark who looked more then pleased at this turn of events. I had a feeling this was exactly what he had been hoping for. I grabbed the sides of the door frame and called out to Molly to get back inside. "Molly, please I'm begging you. Come back inside, he can't hurt us if we're both inside."

"Allison, I'm sorry, but I can't do that." Molly said to me quietly, making sure to keep her eyes straight ahead to where Mark was waiting for her out in the yard and keeping her body ready in case he made a sudden move. "I have to end this once and for all. He won't ever stop."

"You got that right." Mark smirked, his arms crossing over his chest as his blue practically twinkled in a sick kind of excitement. "Now this is going to be fun."

* * *

><p><em><span>At Fangtasia<span>_

"What the hell are we suppose to do about this one?" Pam asked him later that night as they stood together with Godric inside his office as chaos reigned supreme out on the main floor by the humans that had refused to cease their destruction since the vampire's arrival 20 minutes ago. Pam remained by her post near the door way with her arms crossed and a look on her face that demanded action. "Come on Eric, they're destroying your bar and you're sitting here doing nothing? Can't we just kill them all and call it a night?"

"You know as well as I do that we can't do that, no matter how much we may want to." Eric grumbled, sitting back in his chair behind his desk as it was very rare that he did not know what to do. "There are too many humans out there ans if we slaughter them all the the AVL will be on our asses for tarnishing their image. And I for one do not feel like dealing with the likes of Nan Flannigan any time soon."

"Fuck Nan! She can't tell us what to do." Pam exclaimed, her face showing just how much disgust she held towards the leader of the AVL as she stood up straight and came over to the desk. "Eric, these blood bags are making a mess of your business. Do not tell me we can't do anything about it."

"We will do something, we just have to be smart about it." Godric spoke up from the chair across from Eric, looking like he wanted to be the voice of reason in all this like he had been in the past. "Murdering these humans is not going to help our cause."

"You're one to speak about murder or almost murder." Pam mumbled even though they could all hear her as clearly as if she had been shouting. "Since when has fear of doing the wrong thing ever stopped you before?"

"Enough Pam." Eric found himself growling, jumping to the defense of his maker at this sudden verbal attack from his progeny. "We don't have time to be fighting amongst ourselves. We have a bigger problem on our hands."

"Then what are we suppose to do about it? Huh?" Pam replied sarcastically, looking annoyed that she had been cut short on her rant. "Just wait until they decide to leave?"

"We can't just go charging out there right at this moment, not unless we want to be hit by flying wooden objects." Eric explained, rolling his eyes at his progeny's attitude. But truthfully he would love to be doing what she just suggested in killing those humans. They had been raising hell inside the bar for the past hour and so far they hadn't been able to do anything about it. Not when there was a greater threat of danger in the air when the humans began breaking every pieces of furniture in the place for the sole purpose of throwing it through the air in the hopes it would kill one of the vampires. It had gotten so bad that the three had retreated here to the office where they were barricaded in by a metal door until there was a window of opportunity to strike back. Eric didn't like it, but if it meant keeping himself and his progeny and master safe then that's what they would do. "We will have our moment to go out and fix this, we just need to wait until it calms down."

"Look at you becoming Mr. Logical. I thought Godric was suppose to have that title" Pam retorted, dropping down on to the couch against the opposite wall from them. "I don't relish the idea of just sitting around."

"You never have." Eric reminded her, remembering his progeny's lack of patience when it came to making actions. "But as your maker I'm..."

"Yea yea yea, I know. I'm going to sit here and shut up and do what you say. Save your energy." Pam finished for him, running her hands through her long hair before sitting back. "It's too bad your little Faerie isn't here. She would make being locked up in this room a lot more fun."

"And then maybe she can step in front of another stake for you like she did all those months ago." He shot back remembering that dark night when Allison had pushed Pam out of the path of a flying stake meant for her only to be hit with it instead herself. It was one of the scariest nights of his life and even he had no problem admitting that. He looked at Godric and Pam's faces and shook his head. "I'm glad she's not here and that she didn't insist on coming. It just would have made things worse then they are right now."

"At least she's safe at home..."

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

It was worse then I thought. Standing back and being forced to watch the chaos going on in front of me and know I wasn't allowed to be out there in the midst of it was harder to resist then I thought it would be.

I knew the risks of putting myself in the middle of the fight between Molly and Mark and yet I couldn't help but want to be out there fighting anyway. How could I not want that? I was watching both my birth parents essentially fighting to the death over me and here I was, standing in the doorway watching it all, not allowed to participate. I would be too much of a distraction though if I tried to put myself into this battle. Even if I were to try and give Molly the advantage by going out into the yard, it might be the very thing that made Mark snap worse then he already had and it could prove to be fatal for my birth mother. So as much as I hated to just sit back and let yet another person fight for me and risk getting hurt, I had no other choice.

Mark may have been a vampire and may have retained his Fae powers and had the speed advantage over Molly, but she was equally matched in power against him. Every time he charged at her, she threw him back with that burst of white light, throwing him sometimes so far back that he nearly was out of the yard. But he always came back with a vengeance,getting closer then he had before until there were moments when he was almost able to grab a hold of her. Molly although only a partial Fae like Mark was, she was also a powerful witch and when Mark came too close, she was able to mutter some kind of spell that I couldn't decipher the words and all of sudden she had conjured up a wall of fire that flared up before Mark could take her. It stopped him in his tracks before it could burn him and send him to the true death, but it did cause him to back off for a while as he circled around her trying to find his way in like he was some sort of African cat stalking his prey.

"Aren't you just going to give up already?" Mark asked, coming to a stop 10 feet from Molly as his eyes flickered over to me almost possessively. He hadn't given up on his quest to get to me and even came as far to come right up to the doorway even though he wasn't able to enter. But that hadn't stopped him from trying, at least until Molly was able to blast him away again. He looked back at her with a triumphant smirk like he had already won this. "You know you can't kill me."

"Actually I can, I just need to wait for the right moment to drive this stake into whatever resemblance of a heart you have left." Molly shot back, her right hand gripping the roughly carved stake she had yanked from her back pocket that I had never even noticed she had there. "How about you give up Mark? Even you have to realize that you don't stand a chance when Eric returns, he's a thousand years old, not even an asshole like you can stand up against him."

"That's why I made sure those humans were so glamored that they won't stop their havoc until they are un-glamored. So its a good thing I sent over 50 of them to that bar, it should keep Mr. Northman more then busy while I take care of business here." Mark stated, eying Molly briefly before flashing forward. But she was ready for him, throwing her arms straight out as the beam of light came out of her fingertips and sent Mark flying backwards and to the ground in a crumbled heap. He was back on his feet in no time, seemingly unfazed as he looked at Molly with disgust. "My my, you certainly have become feistier as you've gotten older."

"Only when it comes to you." Molly hissed, her vibrant green eyes she shared with me narrowing down to slits as she looked at him with the utmost hatred I had ever seen in someone's face. "Over the past few years, I can turn violent as fast as you can. Only difference is I know how to turn it off."

"Yea, that doesn't work for me. You never get what you want by being nice." He smirked, standing there as calmly as anything with his eyebrows raised in a challenge. "And right now, you're standing in the way of me getting what I really, really want."

"It will never happen." I made the mistake of yelling out, drawing Mark's attention back to me just as the gleam rose back up in his face. The way he looked at me and talked to me was like I wasn't even his daughter and just some stranger on the street he wanted to drain dry. It was beyond creepy but I shouldn't have been surprised given the nature of most vampires. I watched his face, wondering how the hell that we were related since we were so different in personalities. How could I be tied to someone so cruel and mean? "Just get the hell out of here before you end up a big pile of vampire guts."

"Why don't you just save your mother a certain death and come out here and face me yourself?" Mark taunted me, his body turning to face me even though his eyes were still tracking Molly. "Stop hiding behind other people and letting them fight for you."

"You little shit." I muttered, feeling the sting of Mark touching on the one button guaranteed to make me react without thinking and that's exactly what I did. I didn't even try and resist when my feet started moving me forward, I was only focused on getting out there and charging at Mark. But I wasn't even able to reach the middle of the porch before I was intercepted and it wasn't by Mark. It was Molly who had caught sight of what I had been about to do and as she was too far away to physically push me back, she had to resort to the next best thing. I felt a forced hitting me in the chest, blinding my vision in a cloud of white as I was sent flying backwards into the house. I knew Molly had hit me with her Faerie light and that was the reason why I was now finding myself hitting the tiled floor in the kitchen with only my hands to break my fall. I felt the wind being pushed out of my lungs from the unexpected force and it took me a few seconds on my hands and knees to regain my breath before I was able to get back to my feet and return to the doorway. But what I saw unfolding before me caused me to scream. "No!"

It wasn't Molly running at Mark with the stake in her hand that made me yell out, it was Mark's reaction that brought out the feeling of terror in my chest. Mark had been prepared for any move coming towards him so when Molly tried to take a chance and drive the stake through his chest, he had been ready to counter it and he did so quickly. She had barely reached him before he grabbed her hand, successfully forcing her to release the stake from her hand before he tossed it far away into the tree line before turning his eyes on me as if to make sure I was watching. And then just like that, he twisted her hand and a sickening crack echoed across the yard towards me before I saw Molly hanging there from his hand screaming in pain. He had broken her wrist as easily as if it had been a stick and he wasn't done inflicting pain on her yet as his eyes clouded over in a look that I knew all too well.

It was a hunger look. A look that said he craved the essence inside of her and if he couldn't have the one that flowed in me, then he was going to take it from her. I watched in horror as he used his free hand to yank her head to the side, his fangs sliding out far too quickly as he prepared to sink them into her pulsating vein. But then before he could get even closer to biting her, I did something extremely stupid.

I stepped through the doorway out on to the porch, making just enough of a distraction that Mark lifted his head away from Molly's neck and his eyes shot towards me with a frenzied look that almost made me regret what I was doing. But that disappeared when I saw him throw Molly to the ground as if she were nothing, causing her to cry out in pain as she curled up into a ball at his feet and was barely able to look up to meet my eyes.

"Allie no! Get back inside." She managed to shout at me, trying to roll away from Mark as he shoved his foot at her before looking at me again. "Allie please, go inside..."

"Shut up bitch." Mark growled, sending her a look that would have made a stronger person cower but she didn't. She may have been in pain but she wasn't going to let him have the upper hand for too long, even if she couldn't fight back at the moment. But I wasn't about to let her keep going, I couldn't let her get hurt even more because of me. Hence why I was now jumping down the steps to the grass to face down my birth father just like I knew I would eventually have to. He seemed beyond pleased and he casually walked towards me like this was the moment he had been waiting for for 24 years. "And now the real games begin."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back at Fangtasia<span>_

"This is so not how I wanted to spend my night." Pam grumbled rather loudly as she shoved yet another human away from her and grabbed another one to glamor while she looked around at Godric and Eric who were on opposite ends of the room but they could still hear her. "I mean, this is going to take like another 40 minutes to get all these little fuckers under control."

"Well we can't just leave them under this kind of glamor you know." Eric replied sarcastically, his patience level starting wear off with his progeny as they struggled to clean up the mess the humans had created in their short time at the bar. "Just keep on going and between the three of us, we should get this done and over with soon enough."

It never should have happened in the first place, all this destruction that had left the bar in shambles while he had remained hidden in his office with Pam and Godric until nearly every piece of furniture had been broken and they were finally able to safely leave the room. And when they had emerged into the main part of the bar and saw the damage that had been done, it took everything in Eric not to grab the first human within reach and snap their necks. But he had to let cooler heads prevail because if it was reported that a human had been killed at Fangtasia then all hell would break loose and the less vampires prying into his life the better. The last thing he needed was Nan to come sniffing around and finding out all the secrets he had been hiding about Allison and her abilities. And knowing Nan the way he did, if she knew what Allison was and what she could do then she would stop at nothing to find a way to make use of the young Faerie. So he was not about to draw attention to himself in that way and simply ordered Godric and Pam to go around glamoring the other humans into forgetting their actions and leaving the bar without resistance. It took a while, being as there were more in the room then there had ever had on a extremely busy night but slowly the bar started to empty and the humans were leaving in clumps. Some roughed up, some simply frazzled, but otherwise unharmed and unaware of what they had done.

"This is so fucked up." Pam growled after they had pushed the last of the remaining group of stragglers out the door and locked it behind them and were now looking around the room at the damage that would surely cost half a small fortune to return to normal. "I cannot believe we had such bad luck to have this happen to us. I mean, come on. Why are we randomly chosen to have this shit thrown at us?"

"I don't think it is as random as you may think." Godric replied, pressing his lips together as he assessed the place around him and shrugged. "If you think about, anything that has happened in the past couple of years has never been random. There's always a reason behind it."

"He has a point." Eric pointed out, snapping to attention at his maker's statement as it truly did seem to make sense to him. "Whenever something happened to any of us, it always had someone behind it doing the dirty work. So it seems just too coincidental that a crowd of glamored humans just stumbled into my bar to raise hell."

"So what are you saying? That they were purposely sent here on a mission?" Pam asked, frowning as she kicked at the broken leg of a nearby table before crossing her arms. "I don't think that's right. I think it was just some stupid young vampire wanting to amuse themselves for the night. I think you're making too much of this. You're too paranoid these days."

"After what happened with the witches, I have no choice but to question everything that happens. I can't risk any one's life because I wasn't being cautious." Eric sneered, glaring at the broken bar counter and wishing beyond all hell that he had given in and snapped the neck of one of those humans just for the sole purpose of making himself feel better. "I think someone sent them here for a reason besides just to make a mess."

"And what reason would that be?" Pam wanted to know, rolling her eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. "Why would a vampire glamor a bunch of humans to create havoc for us?"

"Maybe it wasn't a vampire who came up with it" Godric said slowly, his features showing that he was mulling it over in his head. "Maybe a vampire was sent by someone."

"Or a bunch of someones." Eric stammered, feeling his eyebrows furrowing as a wheel started turning in his mind. "Is it at all possible that the remaining witches in the Dallas coven that we didn't kill somehow teamed up with a vampire to do this? Is this there way of letting us know they're still out there and haven't forgotten about the battle in the cemetery?"

"If they knew what was going on now, then they would have shown themselves long ago. If they were aware that Allison had been resurrected then they would have started trouble months ago. I don't think that's it." Pam shook her head, unwilling to even entertain the idea that she was in the wrong. "There has to be another conclusion to this."

"Who else would have done this though?"

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

Why did I do this? What in the world would possess me to defy Molly's orders and jump out onto the grass to face down my father? What in the hell was I thinking?

I don't know what I was thinking when I made the decision to leave the safety of my house to come out here to battle Mark but I was quickly starting to regret my decision. I didn't know what I was expecting to happen, but I suppose I was under the illusion that because I was a full blooded Faerie then that would mean I could over power him a lot easier then Molly could. But that was not the case at all. Even though Mark was only half Fae, he was still a vampire and there were moments when he was moving so fast that I could hardly keep up with him and all he became was a blur to my eyes. I had to remain vigilant and I didn't even have time to be scared, which was a mistake in itself. Because if I was able to feel my fear then Eric would have been here long ago. But I was too busy trying to stay alive and keep Molly alive that I wasn't able to give in to any emotion for the moment. I guess that was my survival instinct, fight now and feel later. I knew that state of mind all too well when I battled the witches all those months ago.

But Mark was a different kind of enemy. He was my flesh and blood, my father and half responsible for me even having a life. It was that unwanted connection that clouded things and made it sometimes hard to concentrate long enough to deliver a fatal blow. Every time I tried to run for a stick or find the stake he had thrown away, Mark was always there to intercept me and I was forced to throw him back with my beams of light to avoid him killing me. It was only when he had succeeded in knocking me to the ground did things come to a standstill as I scrambled back up to my feet.

"Is that the best you can do?" He sneered, coming to a stop about 10 feet away from me and smirking like this was all a game to him and the longer I tried to fight back then the more it thrilled him. "I will say this though, you are a lot more fun to play with then your mother..."

"Fuck off Mark, you're sick." Molly weakly snapped from her spot on the ground where she was cowered on the ground after Mark had gotten away from me and broke her other wrist so sh"e was defenseless. That however didn't stop her from looking at him scathingly. "If I could kill you right now then I would."

"And that's why you should have done it years ago." Mark shook his head in mock sadness as if he felt bad for her. "But you failed at that just like you failed at it this time. And now, you get to just sit back and watch me drain our daughter like I should have done if you hadn't hidden her away from me."

"Not going to happen you prick." I shouted at him, trying to draw his attention away from the injured Molly and back on me. At least I could protect myself, molly was in so much pain that she couldn't even cast any spells. If Mark set his sights on her again, I don't know how I would be able to fight him off. If he was paying attention to me, then maybe Molly could somehow crawl back up on the porch and get in the house again. I willed the light to stay in my hands, sending it at Mark quick enough so that it hit his shoulder and knocked him slightly off balance, just enough to make his face snap towards me as his fangs came shooting out. "This is between you and me now. And this is how it will end."

"I won't be the one ending, it will be you." Mark chuckled, his own white light coming out of his fingertips, waving at me almost comically before he shot away out of my line of vision. I whipped around in all directions, keeping my hands up in case I saw him, but he was no where. I pushed at the walls of my mind, stretching it out in case I could catch wind of him thought but there was nothing. Perhaps he had gone for the moment, maybe this was over. But that wasn't the case as I suddenly felt something hard grab me around the throat right before a voice whispered into my ear. "Are you ready to die? Again."

It wasn't his threat that made my breath catch so suddenly. It was the feeling of falling, the sensation of wind whipping at my face, the feeling of entering someone's mind that made me gasp out loud as I was suddenly thrust into the dark thoughts of the one man I never wanted to meet. And what I was seeing was more then I was ever prepared to deal with.

_"You know where she is don't you?" A darkly cloaked figure asked Mark as the two people stood together in an empty cornfield where there was nothing but miles of land to see and was guaranteed to offer privacy like no other location. "And you're sure it's the same girl I asked you about?"_

_"For the millionth time, yes. It's Allison Stackhouse, my daughter that you're after." Mark growled, growing frustrated very quickly with this witch he had randomly decided to meet up with. "And yes, I saw for myself that she's alive. I don't know how, but she's alive."_

_"I bet it was Molly who had something to do with it. I always knew there was something not right about how she raised no resistance when I told her to curse that dagger that night and then why she slipped away from our coven so close to battle. She had to have been involved somehow. I just never questioned it before." Anna snapped, throwing back her hood so her face was exposed to Mark and the surrounding elements. "And now you're telling me that Molly is Allison's mother. Now that makes a lot more sense."_

_"That bitch never knew when to mind her own business and now she is going to pay. They both are." Mark stated, is eyes turning up to the twinkling stars above him and he almost smiled at the thought of getting his ex and his daughter in the same place at the same time. "So we have a deal right?"_

_"Right. You may drain the girl as much as you like as long as you bring her back to us alive so we can finally get out hands on her fucking soul." Anna said, her eyes glittering like mad as she spoke and her hands twisting around each other as if she could barely contain her excitement. "And then you can do with her, whatever you wish."_

_"Can I kill her?" Mark asked smugly, knowing what the answer would be as Anna nodded curtly, drawing up her hood again and preparing to walk before he stopped her. "Hey. What if by some freak of a chance that I fail to get a hold of her? What happens then?"_

_"If you fail, then the remaining members of my coven and I will have no choice but to go to battle again.."_

"Oh fuck." I whispered, coming out of Mark's head so quickly that my vision was scrambling to keep up. It took me a few seconds to be able to focus on his face long enough to gasp. "Anna sent you after me."

"How did you know that?" He demanded, his fingers tightening over my wind pipe slightly as my statement seemed to unnerve him as he like all vampires didn't know their thoughts were no longer off limits. His blue eyes glared down at me, filled with such hatred and animosity that I felt my heart started to thud in my chest and that only made him more pleased as a smirk now slid on to his lips. "You know what? It doesn't even matter. Because by tomorrow night, you won't be able to explain anything to anyone any more. I hope you've enjoyed your life up until now."

"Oh God, please don't do this." I was struggling so hard to breathe that my fear was being squished down deep inside of me. I was more concerned with trying to get air into my lungs then of being this close to death for a second time in a month. I grabbed at his wrist but my beams of light had flickered and died as I could not focus enough to use them to my advantage. "Please don't kill me."

"Begging is not going to help you now." He shook his head, his free hand reaching up to touch my face, lighting up when or skin touched and I saw that hunger look pass through his features until his fangs came right back out and were poised to dive in. I knew this was it, it was the end. Mark fingers gripped my throat, holding me up on my feet as he said. "Prepare to die for a second time."

I squeezed my eyes shut, silently saying my goodbyes to my loved ones and waiting for that inevitable feeling of fangs piercing my flesh. But it never came. His hand was still on my throat, so I knew he was still there. But it was the sound of rushing wind that forced me to open my eyes again just in time to see a hand appear around his throat and causing a look of shock to come over his pale face as he was now being the one in danger. I knew it was a another vampire who had come to my rescue because nothing else could move that fast. And at first I thought I knew who it was because I had seen the blur and just was able to make out the blonde hair.

But it wasn't Eric. It wasn't Louie. Heck it wasn't even Pam that had come to save me. In fact, it wasn't any one I knew. This vampire was a stranger, someone I had never met.

But I knew this vampire's face.

I looked at the hand on Mark's throat and allowed my eyes to travel passed the leather jacket covered arm, catching sight of the dazzling blonde hair and to the utterly beautiful face of my savior. And for the second time tonight, my breath caught in my throat and not because Mark was trying to squeeze the life out of me. But because while I had never met this person before, I knew their face very well. And I was shocked to the point where I could only utter one word.

"Helen..."

**A/n: yup, i totally went there. Im so beyond happy that i finally got to this point in the fic. I've been dying to have helen reveal herself and now the time has come. And all hell is about to break loose. The end of the fic is also upon us. i expect chapter 40 to be the finale. So stayed tuned**


	33. In the ground, belonging to you

**Chapter 33 In the ground, belonging to you**

I had to be dead. Or perhaps close to dying. Or at least hallucinating because there was no way this could possibly be real. There was no logical way that a girl everyone believed to be long dead was standing here looking down at me after rushing into the yard to save me. There was just no way that the vampire I was seeing holding Mark by the throat was real.

But she was real. And I knew her. At least through someone else's eyes, I knew her. I would have never forgotten Helen's face.

I didn't know what the hell was going on and I didn't know how this was possibly, but it was obvious that it was real. I knew by the way Mark's stone like fingers still gripped my throat, holding me up as he prepared to steal the breath from my lungs. I could see the fleeting but still present look of fear pass through his eyes when Helen didn't let go of him and only an older vampire could elicit a response like that. I tried to remain calm even when all this realization was hitting me all at once and tried to make sense of what the hell was going on around me. I saw Molly sitting up, her broken wrists in her lap but otherwise uninjured as she watched the chaos going on between the two vampires and me. Mark, his pride obviously wounded by being held up by an older vampire and a female one at that, tried to struggle out of her grip. But Helen must have been stronger then he ever thought because he didn't even move one inch.

"Release her." Helen's clear melodic voice ordered, momentarily stunning me with how such a sweet tone could sound so deadly serious. Her face was young, not looking much older then me when she had been turned and she was the epitome of what an angel would look like with that beautiful blonde hair and those vibrant green eyes. I cold see why both Louie and Godric had been drawn to her, her beauty was undeniable. But it took a backseat when she opened her mouth again. "I won't ask again. Relinquish your hold on her or else you will suffer dire consequences."

"Mind your own business blondie. She's mine." Mark growled, having a moment of courage as he talked back to Helen before his fingers tightened around my throat to the point where I was struggling to breathe. I felt my hands frantically hit at his arm as I felt wave after wave of fear come over me when Mark looked down with a hungry look in his eyes. "I'm going to finish what I've started."

"I really don't like my order being ignored, especially by little pricks like you." Helen hissed, reaching over with her free hand and easily pried his fingers away from my throat, allowing me to fall to the ground just as she yanked him back away from me. "You should have listened."

"Fuck you." Mark shouted, still struggling in her singular hold as Molly stumbled over to me, her hands hanging awkwardly and her face showing just how much pain she was in even as she tried to hide it.

"Are you ok?" She asked when I had gotten back to my feet and my hands went instantly to my throat. I could feel the ache still across the surface of my skin and I knew I would have bruising there by morning but that was the least of my worries.

"I should be asking you that question..." I began to say but my voice was drowned out in the sound of rushing wind that signified the arrival of a vampire. Only it wasn't just one, it was three. I watched again in near shock as not only did Eric show up first on the scene like I knew he would, but he was followed quickly by Pam and then even Godric who immediately went wide eyed when he caught sight of Helen, giving me only enough time to say the first and foremost thing on my mind. "Oh fuck."

"What the hell is going on here?" Eric demanded, leaving Pam and Godric's side to rush over to me and pull me into his arms as if to protect me from another enemy coming but there was no other. There was only Mark, who was held captive by Helen only 10 feet away and this was what he zeroed in on. "Who the fuck are they? And why are they on our property?"

"That's Mark, Allie's birth father." Molly answered, her eyes going right back to Mark's face and looking at him in such disgust that I was amazed when he didn't cower under her stare. "And as for her, I have no idea who she..."

"That's Helen." Godric and I both said at the same time, our eyes meeting across the yard at the same time and for the first time since his attack on me, we were on the same page. Any animosity I had towards him was gone as I saw the shock and surprise register on his face as he looked upon the woman he had assumed was dead for the past thousand years. I could practically see the blur of his thoughts running rampant in his head, taking over as he was trying to figure if what he was seeing in front of him was real. He was the only one who stepped forward, hesitantly as if he thought this was a trick but it was his face that showed just how tormented he was. "How the hell is any of this possible? You were suppose to be..."

"You think you can let me go so I can finally drain that bitch?" Mark interrupted Godric, his eyes rolling around furiously as he continued to struggle as his desire to get at me was at an all time high. "I came here to get her and I will have her..."

"You know what? I'm really getting sick of you. Excuse me." Helen announced, her voice sounding just as sweet as it had when she first opened her mouth. But what she did next was not so sweet and I could barely follow it as she reached underneath her leather jacket and pulled out a dark carved stake before driving right through Mark's chest without a second thought. And while the rest of us screamed and ducked, Helen didn't seem at all fazed when the blood and guts went flying all over her due to her close proximity to him, she just stood there with her arms down at her sides and the stake still clutched in her hand as Mark's remains settled into a pile all around her just as silence filled the air and I felt the first wave of relief come over me when I realized that Molly's life long nightmare and my new one was finally over and we could relax. But the moment didn't last long as Eric was the one who had to break the quiet in the yard.

"Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on." He yelled, his arm tightened around me, tugging me further to his side as he looked over Helen's blood covered form. "Who is she?"

"Helen is the Faerie that Godric and Louie both loved, but they thought she was dead." I piped up, staring right at Helen in as much shock as Godric was. Even though I had never known her, I still felt this connection to her from how I had seen her through memories. And that's probably why I had the courage to speak up and talk to this relatively unknown former Faerie. "But apparently she's been a vampire this whole time."

"Ooo, I like her a lot." Pam made no attempt at hiding the smile that suddenly spread across her face even despite everyone turning away and ignoring her.

"How did you know who I was?" Helen's pretty face still shinned through the splatters of blood as her features twisted into a frown. "How do you know anything about me?"

"I learned it through Louie mostly." I said, noticing the sharp look of pain that went through her eyes when I said his name and it made me think of how he was going to handle this if he ever found out she was alive. "But I think the better question is how did you who I was? Because you don't randomly run into someone's yard to save them unless you know them a little bit. And vampires especially don't do that. So tell me..."

"I've been watching you and Louie since you were in Mystic Falls." She admitted, sending a shock wave through me with her confession as I grabbed on to Eric more tightly as she went on. "You never saw me because I maintained a distance, but I was there looking at you and him when you were at the Salvatore house."

"Wait a second!" I cut in, my face going cold as a warning bell went off in my head to remind me of something I had nearly forgotten about. "It was your thoughts I heard coming from the woods that night?"

"You can read my thoughts?" Helen asked, her eyes growing wide as she stared directly into my face.

"You heard her while you were there?" Godric demanded, looking between her and I furiously.

"I didn't know it was her." I explained, closing my eyes at all the information that was being thrown out into the air tonight. "I just knew I was hearing a vampire's thoughts."

"I don't understand how that is possible but I guess it explains how you knew who I was before I spoke." Helen nodded, her small hand reaching up to wipe off a splatter of blood off her cheek. "You saw me in Louie's head."

"Yea, that's true." I answered, thinking again of Louie and Godric and how everything they once knew was now upside down. A thousands years of hurt and pain were now being revealed to be for nothing. Godric had never been responsible for Helen's passing in the way that he and Louie thought. Helen was clearly alive and well, standing there covered in blood as a vampire. Nothing made sense anymore. "I pretty much know the history you shared with them..."

"Why did you let us think you were dead?" Godric asked quietly, gaining everyone's attention as he stepped forward again, seemingly only having eyes for Helen. But instead of seeing the happiness I thought I would see at their reunion, I only saw confusion, pain, anguish and anger. "Why did you hide from us for a thousand years if you weren't dead? Why wouldn't you tell us you had become a vampire? How could you let us think we had lost you? Why would you be so cruel?"

"It's more complicated then you know." Helen shook her head, her eyes now down to the ground as I sensed that she was going through a very painful memory at this moment. "And even if you did know, you wouldn't understand."

"Then make me under..." Godric began to yell before he was cut off by the sound of a rustle behind us in the tree line and another rush of wind to bring out another vampire who walked into the yard as calmly as anything. Godric stepped back, his eyes wide again. "Louie..."

"What's with all the shouting? I step out into the woods for a walk and I can hear you screaming from miles away. And I had to come make sure everything was ok..."Louie was saying as he strolled forward, not seeing Helen's face until she suddenly turned around and her shocking appearance cut him off just as he realized what he was was seeing. "Helen?"

"Hello Louie."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

She couldn't be real. There was no way that the beautiful, melodic type of voice that came out of that figure's mouth could possibly belong to the woman he had once loved with all his soul over a thousand years ago. That girl was dead and he had struggled to come to terms with it for half his vampire life, only finding the will to leave her behind completely when he forged his friendship with Allison a few months ago. He would forever remember Helen and he would always love her, but she had been taken from him and he would never get to see her again. She would have only existed in his memories.

But she wasn't in a memory right now. She was standing there, covered in what was vampire remains with blood staining her pale skin, seeming like she had been through a war. But she wasn't hurt or injured in any way. She was as perfect as she had been on the last night he had seen her alive a thousand years ago. She was real. She was alive..

And she had come back to him. Just like he always dreamed she would.

Upon realizing that this wasn't an illusion, Louie found himself immediately overcome with the sense that he would like nothing more then to take her in his arms and kiss her lips until the first light of dawn began to rise. He wanted to hold her in his dead sleep for the day, knowing that even in rest, she was right there beside him and wasn't going anywhere ever again. He wanted to make love to her, feeling the same sense of humanity he always felt when they were joined together as one. He wanted to lay beside her in the moon, stroking that beautiful long blonde hair of hers and hear her say his name over and over again for as long as the night would allow them. He wanted to keep her by his side for all eternity, roam the world with her, create the family bond they had shared years ago. He wanted to let Godric back in again, take back the brotherhood he had rescinded on that night. He wanted everything. And now it was possible...

But the longer he stared at her, the more heavily his logical side came back to him and he was suddenly swarmed with a massive cloud of emotions that very quickly filled him up with rage.

Helen had never died, at least not in the way he had been told she had. She was standing there as a thousand year old vampire, seemingly as perfect as she had ever been. But she had lied. To him, to Godric, to her own family. She made it seem like she had been taken from this world when in actuality she had been alive all this time. And that made him so furious that he was feeling all these negative emotions all at once. Anger, for being mislead into thinking he had truly lost the love of his life. Rage for being forced into this state of misery and depression for half his life because of losing her. Betrayal for not having her not love him had enough to tell him she had become one of them. Guilt for blaming Godric for her life coming to an end. Shame for pushing away not only his best friend, but also his vampire brother for something that had obviously been a shamed this whole time. He had told Godric time and time again that this was all his fault and the last few months he had been making Godric seem like the bad friend, when in actuality it had been Louie. All those years of casting the blame on the wrong person for something they hadn't done. Something that could never be taken back...

"I cannot believe you!" Louie found himself exploding, not having any control over his body and forgetting about the others as he lunged at Helen, his fury blinding him. "How could you do this to me?"

"Louie no!" It was Allison's sudden appearance in front of Helen that brought him to a skidding halt, giving Godric and Eric just enough time to reach out for him and grab both his arms to haul him back and way. While he was being yanked further back, his eyes went snapped back to Allison's face, who was looking back at Helen before turning her gaze on him. "Louie you can't hurt her. It wouldn't solve anything."

"It would make me feel better." He grumbled, struggling in the tight grips of Eric and Godric's hold. He could have easily over powered Eric if it had just been him as Eric was half his age. But Godric matched him in strength and age and he was able to keep Louie from escape. It didn't matter, as he more wanted to yell then to actually fight. He looked at Helen's forever immortal face, seeing the same girl he had once loved and never thought he wold see alive again and it made the sense of hurt and betrayal take over him again. "How could you? After the way I treated you, took care of you, loved you...and you go and do something like this. How could you be so cruel?"

"Louie, I'm so sorry. This was never meant to happen. You were never meant to see me again, I only appeared so the girl's father wouldn't hurt her. I was going to leave again before anyone else saw me. I didn't want to bring this pain upon you." Helen responded in a quiet tone, her eyes looking at Allison before turning to him again and he was struck by the still vibrant hue of her green eyes. "I didn't want you to know I was alive like this..."

"What kind of monster lets people think she's dead for a thousand years?" He snapped at the face he had once loved to kiss as he struggled against Godric and Eric. "Oh wait, that's you."

"I deserved that, I know." Helen nodded, her delicate shoulders sinking heavily as it seemed she was feeling the weight of this moment as much as he was. "I know I don't deserve any kind of forgiveness for what I have done, but if you would let me..."

"For a thousand years, I mourned you. For a thousand years I blamed losing you on Godric. I could have had him as a friend all this time if it wasn't for you. You ruined everything in my life." Louie didn't censor himself as he spit this out at her, watching the effects his words had on her. But he didn't care how she felt. She had done something unforgivable and he was filled with such rage that he had to get it out somehow. And this was the method he choose. "For half my life as a vampire I have held on to my love for you, allowing it to turn me into this bitter, angry person and just so we're perfectly clear, I blame you! And I will never forgive you for what I have become."

Louie somehow managed to rip both his arms out of their imprisoned hold and took a step to run off in the opposite direction. But before he cold move, a rush of wind blew through the yard and when he blinked, there was another strange vampire standing there amongst them and this one he had never seen before. But Helen seemed to as her eyes darted to the tall, brown haired, brown eyed male vampire and nodded in acknowledgment to his presence just as Eric stepped forward and threw up his hands.

"Now who the fuck are you?"

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

"Seriously, who the hell is this?"

Helen looked up at the tall form of her progeny, who had suddenly appeared there in the yard at her moment of need like he always seemed to do and she couldn't help but send him a grateful smile. Being here and having to go through the moment with Louie and Godric when she never wanted to in the first place was hard enough and when the anger started coming at her, she had wanted to run and disappear back into the world like she had never existed. This was more then she had been prepared to deal with. But she had pushed that aside when she made the decision to come out in to the open to save the young girl. So now she couldn't distress over the consequences, she had known what they would be if she ever found herself in this situation and yet she had gone ahead and did. And she would take whatever came at her. She had no choice in the matter anymore. But at least Gabriel was here. He would be her strength when she couldn't provide it for herself.

"Is anyone going to answer?" Eric snapped again, bringing her out of her haze and back into the present where all those faces were staring at her with a mixture of emotions ranging from curious and confused to angry and full of rage. But it was the tall blonde haired vampire who shared her age that demanded an answer. "Why the fuck are you all coming on to my property? And you insist on being here, then explain yourselves."

"This is Gabriel, he is my progeny." Helen had no choice but to confess it or else with the look Eric was giving her, there was trouble to surely follow if he kept looking threatened by this new arrival. "He's been with me since I turned him 500 years ago."

"You created a progeny?" Godric managed to say, looking up at the much taller Gabriel who looked as if he should have been the oldest and stronger of all the vampires in that yard when he actually was one of the youngest. Godric, while still looking more hurt and agonized then she had ever remembered him being, was also looking curious. "I never thought you would become a vampire. And I certainly never imagined that if you did then you would create a child."

"Well she did. And it was a good move on my part." Gabriel spoke for the first time, moving to stand by her side protectively and eyed both Louie and Godric who he had seen as often as she had over the years so he knew their faces well. "I was suppose to stand back and stay out of this, but she needed me and I wasn't about to stay away any longer."

"Well how fucking nice for you." Louie hissed, his eyes finally looking up and meeting hers again and she saw just how much hatred he was feeling towards her right now. And she couldn't blame him for looking fed up. "I'm not staying here a minute longer, this whole situation disgusts me."

"Louie.." She felt the pull to plead, about to move toward him but he left in a gust of wind strong enough that her blood soaked hair blew back from her face and left her staring after him with what felt like an emptiness in her chest while the others started backing away towards the house.

"I think it's time we separate ourselves for a while before someone does something they regret." Godric spoke up, ever the voice of reason as he had been in the past as he walked over and picked up the older woman bearing a resemblance and disappeared into the house without another look over his shoulder. The others followed suit, leaving Eric and Allison to bring up the last of the line. Helen turned to Gabriel and nodded that it was their time to go but before they made a step away from the house, Helen looked up at the porch to find Allison looking at her in a curious sort of way even as Eric tried to tug her back through the doorway. Helen would have gone ahead and left had it it not been for the motion the young Faerie made with her lips.

"Wait here." She mouthed, not giving voice to what she was asking before she too disappeared into the house leaving Helen and her progeny alone in the yard with nothing to do but wait.

* * *

><p><em><span>Inside the house<span>_

"No. Absolutely not."

"You have to..."

"I don't have to do anything. I'm a grown ass woman and no one tells me what to do. Especially not a vampire."

"I'm just trying to help you."

"I don't need your fucking help. I'm perfectly fine."

"Will you just shut up and let him heal you?" Allison snapped down at Molly as the two woman stood face to face after Godric had grown weary of arguing with the woman about trying to heal her with his blood and had given up when Allison had stepped in to take charge and acting like the cooler head in this moment. "You have two broken wrists and if you go to the hospital it will take weeks to heal and you have a daughter to take care of. So stop being a baby and let him heal you damn it."

"Excuse me? Do you know who you are talking to?" Molly looked taken aback by this sudden tone from Allison and it showed all over her face even as she tried to glare around her at him. "I'm your mother, you can't talk to me like..."

"Actually I can and I just did. So hush." Allison ordered, looking almost amused at her mother's reaction as the three of them stood there in the empty downstairs library staring at one another as they had been since Godric and Allison had pulled Molly in here to suggest healing her injuries with his blood. Allison set her hands on her hips and for once they seemed to be on the same page as she said again. "Let him heal you."

"You really think I'm going to take the blood of the vampire who almost killed you? Yea right." Molly said harshly and Godric felt the icy cold hand hit him in the chest at the reminder of what he had done. Allison looked like she was having a similar reaction judging by the expression on her young face. But perhaps it was that stung, anguished look that drove Molly to completely turn things around. "Alright fine. I will fucking take your blood."

Godric wasted no time bringing his wrist to his mouth and biting into his cold skin with his quickly extended fangs, knowing that any second Molly could change her mind and he had to act quick. He appeared at her side and pressed his bleeding arm against her mouth before she could protest like her face showed she wanted to. Allison stood near by watching this occurrence with her arms crossed and her eyes wary and Godric could see why. The last time she had need to feed on vampire blood was when he had attacked her. And seeing Molly drink his blood was reminding her of her own situation only a few weeks ago. This night had changed things immensely and he had a feeling it was only about to get even more complicated as Molly finished drinking and pushed his arm away and flexed both wrist to show they were back to normal.

"See it wasn't that.." Godric began to say but Molly simply sent him a look of disgust as she walked past the two of them and straight out of the room without saying anything. Godric simply watched her go as he said. "You're welcome by the way."

"She's just annoyed and mad and emotional about what happened. So don't take it personally." Allison said in response, her voice level and calm for the moment as it both seemed to dawn on them at the same time that this was the first time they had been alone in a room since she had spoken to him about his release that day. She fidgeted, clearly nervous about this even though he could have died before he hurt her again. "Look, I just want you to know that despite what's going on with us right now, I feel bad that you got hit with this sudden shock tonight. I know you were never expecting this twist."

"You got that right." He agreed, wanting to close his eyes eyes as he thought about those first moments when he saw Helen again and the subsequent realization that she had been alive this past 1,000 years and they never about it. If he had been aware that was a possibility then he would have been seeking her out this whole time instead of mourning the passing of his former lover and best friend. "And thank you for still caring enough to show concern for me."

"You healed Molly, and that means something to me. And by default, that means you still mean something to me as well." She said in explanation as she too made a move towards the door, seeming to end this conversation as she was leaving the room. But she paused in the door way to look at him again before making herself clear. "You know this doesn't change anything with us right? That just because you helped Molly, it doesn't mean I have forgiven you for what you did."

"Of course I know that." Godric nodded, watching her turn away again and truly leave him alone as he looked after her thought if only there was some way to fix what they had once had. But that seemed impossible, at least at the moment. But then, he thought there would never be hope for him and Louie and after tonight, even that seemed possible. So maybe there was hope for him and Allison as well.

* * *

><p><em><span>5 minutes later<span>_

She was still there. They both were. I could see them standing on the back porch as I walked towards the still broken doorway with the towel clutched in my arms to my chest as I approached these relatively unknown vampires.

After I left Godric alone in the library, I had pulled Eric aside and told him that Helen and Gabriel were still out in the yard when we had left and that I was going to talk to them. He didn't understand why and he didn't want to. After seeing that Mark had come to the house when he was gone and learning he had a part to play in what happened at the bar, he did not want me to go out of his sight. But I insisted to him that I needed to do this and he was just going to be in the house so if by chance anything did happen, it wouldn't take long for him to reach me. He reluctantly agreed and went into the living room while I scurried away to the linen closet to grab the towel and head outside before he could stop me from speaking to them. I knew the two vampires could hear everything going on in the house and they knew I was approaching but it wasn't until I was actually standing out on the porch with them, did they turn around to look at me.

"Here..." I said, unlocking my arms so I could extend the towel to Helen who accepted it with a slight frown on her face as I looked between her and the kind looking Gabriel before saying. "I figured you would want to clean the blood off yourself."

"Thank you." Helen's voice was sweet and calm as she wiped the blood from her face and neck, staining the white towel with more blood then I thought possible. Her clothes and leather jacket were stained but there was nothing she could do about that besides try and soak up as much blood as she could. She tossed her hair back behind her after squeezing any remaining dampness from it before looking at me with her head cocked looking almost taken aback. "Not that I don't appreciate this, but I have to ask. Why are you being so kind to me?"

"I don't know. I guess it's because I saw you in Louie's memories and saw how you guys were with each other and I feel like I know you somehow." I shrugged, crossing my arms as I looked at this former Faerie who had such a hold still on two of the vampires in my life. Despite the anger and hurt I saw in Godric and Louie tonight from this revelation, I still felt like I had a pull to this girl. It was the same reason I had explained to Louie that one night when I first saw his memories of Helen, like she would have been my friend had she been around this whole time. And perhaps that was why I felt like I wanted to speak to her and could without feeling the awkwardness that came with it. "And I also kind of want to understand why you did what you did."

"I figured you would and that would be the reason you asked us to remain here." Helen responded, her voice turning guarded as she folded the towel and hung it over the railing of the porch as she ran her hands through her blood stained blonde hair and shrugged. "I don't know if I can give you the answer you want. It just seemed to make sense at the time."

"Your response is what doesn't make sense. And I want to understand, Louie and Godric are my friends. I want to know why you hurt them like that." I wasn't willing to accept her brush off answer as we looked at each other for what seemed like a long few minutes. I didn't know her and I shouldn't have felt like I had the audacity to demand anything from her. But I knew Louie and Godric and I knew the pain they must be feeling and I wanted to understand the reasoning behind that pain. And only Helen could explain it. "You loved them, I saw that in Louie's mind. And they loved you, even Godric, even after you picked Louie over him. They both still loved you, so I guess I don't understand why you would give that up and leave it behind after you became a vampire."

"You know, I've been wondering the same thing too." Gabriel chimed in, walking forward after sending me an easy smile that more then put me at ease before he turned to face his maker. I could see in his face that he too was in the dark about why Helen had stayed away this long and by the tone of his voice, it was obvious he had tried to get the answer out of her more then once. "If you had two vampires who loved you, why wouldn't you stick around for them? They would have been more then happy to still have you, rather then think you were dead."

"I am dead. I've always been dead inside." Helen replied in such an empty voice that both Gabriel and I flinched forward like we would subconsciously go to touch her. But the way she was standing ward off any kind of contact. "How else do you explain my behavior for the past thousand years? I'm a monster now, I stopped being the sweet, young Faerie they loved a long time ago. I'm just evil now."

"No, if you were evil then you wouldn't have saved me from Mark. You would have stood by and watched as he killed me. That is what evil is. I don't think that's you." I stated, not believing in the slightest that she was as bad as she thought. I didn't even think that of Godric anymore, even after he attacked me. But that was an involuntary reaction, it wasn't planned or thought out. I knew what true evil was and neither Godric or Helen were examples of it. I looked at her and shook my head. "I've seen real monsters and I have encountered the epitome of evil, and I don't think that's you at all."

"You don't know anything..." Helen frowned, her pretty face scrunching up darkly as she seemed almost annoyed that I was countering her own opinion of herself. " You're just a stranger, you know nothing about my life."

"You're right, I am a stranger and I don't really know you. I just know what I've seen and was told about you. And that shouldn't mean much but it does and I think you know it as well." I said to her, feeling like there was no filter to my mouth as there was normally. It was just different being in her presence. Maybe it was because she had such a tie to Louie and Godric. Maybe it was because she was a Faerie from a thousand years ago and I was one of the last full blooded Faes around and it was because of that that I felt a connect. Whatever the reason was, it was more then prevalent as we stood there in a calm but intense face off. "I shouldn't feel drawn to you like you were drawn to me tonight when you saved me. But we connected for a reason and that's why I don't believe you're a monster."

"Oh really?" Helen raised her eyebrows almost challengingly.

"Yes really. I think it's all just a way to mask the pain you've been carrying around all these years." I shot back, not feeling like I was overstepping my boundaries by talking so personally to such a stranger. It didn't feel like we were strangers. From the moment she had shown up tonight, I felt this pull to her and even though I had made skin to skin contact with her, I felt like I could see into her mind and soul and something was just off in the way her green eyes looked at me. "I can see it in your eyes and I sense that you're mourning something. Something happened to you didn't it?"

"You...don't know shit little girl." Helen suddenly snapped, her temper flaring up so quickly that Gabriel stepped in front of me like he thought she would come at me. But she didn't, she simply shook her head and said. "Don't pretend like you can understand my pain."

And then she was gone. She went so fast that my hair was still moving from the force of her departure as I saw that she was no longer in sight and it was only Gabriel and me left alone on the porch. He and I looked at each other in what should have been an awkward kind of way but there wasn't a trace of it in his young features. In fact, he was almost looking triumphant like this conversation with Helen had broken down a wall of sorts and he was feeling relieved. I of course didn't understand and just looked at him without saying a word while crossing my arms again. Gabriel looked at the path Helen must have taken back into the tree line but instead of following his maker, he surprised me by what he said.

"I do believe you are the first person besides me to ever talk to her like that. And I have to say that I am very much amused by it." Gabriel's lips curved upwards into a bright smile that I was sure would be the normal one he would wear if things had been normal with his maker. "But that aside, I have to apologize for Helen. She's not normally this rude so don't take it personally. She's just been sad for a very long time."

"I understand why she reacted like that, so you don't need to apologize for her." I waved off his statement, not needing to hear it because I got where Helen was coming from. I was a strange girl who knew her history and was zeroing in on something she probably had been trying to keep to herself and here I was putting it out in the open. That couldn't have been easy for her. "I know the situation, or at least what Louie and Godric believe it to be. And it's going to be tough to get passed, so I think she's entitled to a few mood swings."

"You were very kind to her tonight and I won't soon forget it." Gabriel told me with a smile like we were old friends. But with him being 500 years old, it was probably just in his nature to be friendly the way he was. Kind of like how Louie was when I first met him. "Helen is going to be treated with a lot of hostility now that she's revealed herself and the coming weeks and months are going to be hard. But tonight, she was treated kindly by you and although it doesn't seem like it, she is grateful for it and so am I. Thank you for giving my maker some kind of hope."

"I don't think she's a monster like she thinks she is." I smiled back at Gabriel, already feeling like I had a friend in him. "After seeing her through Louie's eyes, I can't imagine her truly being evil."

"Do you think they'll ever forgive her?" He asked me seriously after a brief moment of silence in which he looked more concerned about this then the chaos that had nearly happened with Louie and Godric and Helen. "I mean, is there any possibility that her revealing herself won't end up being for nothing."

"If Louie and Godric are the vampires she fell in love with then yea, I think at some point down the road they will forgive her." I couldn't help but say this with certainty. Even though things were bad and the anger and pain was so fresh, I knew that Louie and Godric would find it in themselves to forgive Helen. I just knew it. I looked at Gabriel and smiled. "There's always room for a second chance."

"I like your answer." Gabriel was clearly pleased and he didn't bother hiding it as he stepped towards the edge of the porch. "I have to go after her, she shouldn't be alone right now.."

"You're right, you should be with her." I nodded, looking back over my shoulder to the now silent house as I could tell the other had left in my time talking to Helen and Gabriel and it was only Eric waiting on me now. "It was nice to meet you."

"I hope it won't be the last time we cross paths." Gabriel said, nodding to me in a very worldly kind of way before looking towards the tree again with a renewed look of strength in his face. " In my 500 years as a vampire, I've never come across anyone who has given me more hope for my maker's happiness. At least until tonight when I met you. I won't forget you Allison."

I barely had a chance to smile before he was gone in a flash and I was truly left alone on the porch to stare after him in contemplation. The night had taken a turn I wasn't expecting. I didn't think Mark would show up this randomly and try to kill me and Molly. I didn't think that the vampire who saved me and ultimately executed my birth father, would be the one who was long thought to be dead. I didn't think I would see such pain and anguish on the faces of my former friend Godric or my new friend Louie. I never thought I would feel pulled to these two new vampires by the end of that night. But that had all happened and I couldn't help but think there had never been a time when more had been at stake personally then right now. And who knows what would happen with all that.

* * *

><p><em><span>30 minutes later<span>_

I hadn't gone back inside like I had meant to after Gabriel had taken off and instead I had called out to Eric that I was going to talk to Louie and then I had taken off into the woods before he could begin to form an argument. I knew he didn't want me running off so soon after the near attack with Mark, but as I had explained to him this was different and one of my friends needed me and I had to be there for him. And that's where he really did not become thrilled, knowing I was running off to see Louie but I said I didn't have time for his jealousy issues and just headed out before he could talk me out of it. I wouldn't be gone long anyway, at least I didn't think I would be. But there was no telling anything for certain after the events of tonight.

I made my way easily through the woods, being there so often these days that I knew my way to Louie's house without much trouble. I had just passed through a less dense spot of trees when I spotted the lights on on the outside part of the house. But I had barely passed through the tree line before I found the vampire in question sitting on the top part of the steps with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He should have heard me coming from a long distance away, but it wasn't until I had crossed the yard and was standing at the bottom of the steps that he looked up.

"Oh..it's you." He said in an almost strangled voice that broke my heart so badly I wanted to cry for him. He just looked so sad as our met together in the dark night as he looked more lost then I had ever seen. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I thought about giving you your space, but I didn't think you should be alone so soon after...you know." I explained, tucking back my hair when a chilly wind blew it in front of my eyes and I had to cross my arms to stay warm as I hadn't thought to grab a jacket. I continued looking at his sad and distraught face and just felt my heart break even more. "Louie, I'm so..."

"I can't right now Allison." He cut in, shaking his head so quickly it became a blur as he silently begged me not to give voice to the pain he was feeling over what happened tonight. He looked up at me again pleadingly. "I can't talk about it. Please don't make me..."

"It's ok. I'm just...going to sit here with you and not say a word. We don't ever have to talk about it." I said, knowing this was not the best of times to push him to talk as he had already been stretched beyond his limits for the night. So I just climbed the steps and sat down next to him, looping my arm through his as he laid his forehead on his knees and fell silent. I leaned my cheek against his shoulder and said quietly. "I'm here for you Louie, just know that I am."

"I know you are...thank you."

_60 minutes later_

I returned home just exactly 1 hour after Louie and I had stopped talking. We didn't even say goodbye, I just got up and waved to him and he did the same. He disappeared into his house and I threw myself back into the woods to make my way home to Eric again. I just walked through the back doorway where he must have busied himself with fixing the door while I had been gone and smile as I shut and locked it for the remainder of the night. I walked through the quiet house, knowing he was probably waiting for me in the living room as he always seemed to be when he was waiting for me to get back. I turned the corner into the living and there he was lying on the couch with his hands behind his head looking right at me. I couldn't help but smile at him, finding the one bright spot in this horrible night as I walked over and climbed on top of him. I saw the surprise register in his face as I straddled him before he could up to meet me across the room and I knew he was thinking that perhaps we would be doing something dirty to end the night.

But that was so far from my mind as I was reminded of something I needed to confess to him and I as I sat there over his hips and looked down at him, his playful expression turned to a more serious one.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting into a frown as he reached up with one hand to tuck back my hair that had tumbled in front of my face before his palm cupped my chin. "Tell me lover, what is bothering you?"

"I heard Mark's thoughts before he died, he had found Anna and the rest of the Dallas coven knows I've been resurrected." I explained quietly, wishing I could have taken more time to word this more gently but I was so adamant about getting this out that I didn't want to waste time to sugarcoat it. Eric needed to know danger was coming in some form and I needed him to lean on, I didn't want to have to hide anything anymore like I had the last time. So I had just said it, watching at how his blue eyes instantly flamed up at my statement. I held my hands to the wrist of the hand he still had on my chin and said. "They're going to come for me when they realized Mark failed in taking me."

"Then let them..." Eric growled, sitting up so we were now face to face as he took back his hand and held me by the shoulders before saying with a fire in his voice. "Let them come...and when they do, we will be ready!"

**A/N: and there you have it...Helen is know to be alive by all parties involved and boy is it complicated for him on out now that the witches are on their way back. And believe it or not there is only 3 more chapters until the finale...But the good news is that there will be a 5th fic in store and boy is that going ot be fun. Stay tuned for more craziness**


	34. Never going to end

**Chapter 34 Never going to end**

_The next night_

"Are you serious? We have to go to battle again? Christ, this is never going to end is it?"

I looked at Eric from my spot beside him at the head of the dining room table the next night after we had finished explaining the situation to the faces surrounding us and I did my best to hold myself together even though I was pissed that we had to all go through this again. I knew there wasn't going to be much time until the witches showed up after what I had seen in Mark's thoughts. So tonight after the sun had gone down, we had gathered together our core group of Bill and Sookie, Godric and Pam, and Molly and Louie, who looked as if he hadn't slept at all during the day but had still show up because I asked him too. Not one of theme protested coming here after we said it was important. We had all learned in the last year that when someone called you up and said that, then you take it seriously. So they all showed up and I immediately flew into an explanation and to say that that they weren't surprised was an understatement. We all knew eventually the remaining witches were going to return in some form and it was only when we brought up a second battle did they seem to forget their logical side as it was taken over by anger and frustration.

"Unfortunately William..." Eric sent Bill a look as he had been the one to say something after I had finished talking and Eric didn't like the response, but then again, he never really liked anything that came out of Bill's mouth even after I told him to ease up on my cousin's husband. "We do have to go to battle once more. But this time is going to be the last. I refuse to face down these bitches for a 3rd time."

"Good then we're on the same page." Bill sent a glare back at the viking but he did a better job at harnessing his annoyance then Eric did and I suspected that it was mostly because Sookie had grabbed his hand and was sending him a look that basically said not to start something. "It's going to end this time around and for good. No witch is going to make it out alive."

"Nice to know that you feel that way about witches." Molly said sarcastically, eying the vampires around the table as she sat between Sookie and I so she wouldn't have to be in close proximity of a vampire. But despite her obvious misgivings of my company, she too seemed to share their goal. "But you have a point, if it doesn't end this time then Anna will come back again and again. Only each time she will do a better job and it will be harder to defeat her. So if you plan on killing her, then do it this time. Do not let her escape."

"Oh trust me, that's not going to happen. In fact, I plan on killing her myself." Eric replied almost gleefully as he sent me a smirk before reaching under the table and grabbed a hold of my knee in his strong palm. "There will not be a next time. That coven is going to end and we're finally going to find peace."

"So how exactly are we going to make that happen?" Sookie questioned, speaking up for the first time and looking at me with a small smile that suggested she was feeling the same way about this upcoming battle. "I mean, do we have a plan yet?"

"Do we ever actually have a plan?" Pam chimed in with a bored looking raise of her eyebrows. "Do we ever know what the hell we're doing?"

"Have more faith Pamela, your lack of it disgusts me." Godric spoke with a roll of his eyes from his spot on Eric's other side. "And I don't believe we have a plan yet, but we know any mistakes we made last time and we won't make them this time."

"You said that most of the witches were killed last time right? So that means the coven is fractured and less strong, suggesting that when we strike it will be a good time if they haven't replenished their ranks yet." Louie pointed out, wiping at at his nose as a little curl of blood rolled down from one nostril and I was almost tempted to tell him to go home and rest, but I knew he would refused so I didn't bother. "If nearly all the witches were killed then there won't be a need for an army as you had the last time. We should be able to do this amongst ourselves if we simply act quick."

"See! Now that's what I'm talking about." I almost cheered at Louie's obviousness, sharing the same mind frame as I knew it would still be tough but easier this time around when there weren't as many witches battling back against us. And that's what I would tell the others. "I know it's still a war, but it won't nearly be as bad as the first one. Less witches is a good thing, we can win this and end it once and for all. We just have to ..."

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Eric immediately cut me off, his hand leaving my leg and coming up to curve into a fist on the table top in front of him. "What's this talk about we? You're not going anywhere near this fight."

"Uh, I think I am. You can't exactly tell me what to do." I protested, rolling my eyes as this was not the time for Eric to be exerting his bossiness on me as we had to put that aside for the greater good. But the stare he had now turned on me was clearly saying he thought his way was best. "You're serious? You're trying to tell me to stay out of this?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Do you not remember what happened the last time you went up against witches?" Eric said with such a hard edged tone that it went right through me and caused me to stare at him with a frown as I went to push my chair away from the table. But he didn't stop. "Or did you let that slip your mind?"

"Eric, relax." Godric began to say, looking at me almost apologetically. "Do not go there. You will regret..."

"No, I'm not going to let you risk your life again." Eric stated intensely, shaking his head like the decision was already made and I had no choice in the matter. "It's just not going to happen."

"Who the fuck do you think you are to talk to me like that?" I demanded, standing up just as he did the same, towering over me like he thought he could intimidate me into going his way. But I was too stubborn for my own good. "You can't stop me from fighting for my own life..."

"Well at least you will have a life coming out of this battle if you stay out of it, unlike last time." Eric growled, hitting one major low blow before he flashing out of the room and left me standing there in a room of silent humans and vampires who were all trying not to look at me. I could hear the door to the library being slammed shut as I just clenched my fists to contain my anger.

"You are one major prick Eric Northman." I snapped, storming out of the room towards the back of the house.

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"Well you really out did yourself this time Eric." Godric said almost 20 minutes later as he entered the library Eric had closed himself into after the fight with Allison as he did not want to have to remain in the presence of the others and it was only Godric who had gotten the nerve to walk in on him and call him on what he had just said. "I mean it, I don't believe there has been a time when you were more hurtful in the light of a looming war then you were just now. You should be ashamed."

"I'm not going to apologize if that's what you're getting at." Eric glared at his pacing maker from his hunched over position in the leather bound chair in the corner. He didn't feel sorry for what he had said to Allison and he didn't regret it that much more. He knew he was right and he wasn't about to take it back no matter what his maker said. He looked up at Godric who was staring at him with that disapproving look that was present whenever he disagreed with Eric's position on anything. "Besides, she deserves it for being so selfish."

"You call that selfish? Were you not listening to the same conversation as me?" Godric's face, which had been calm for the most part since his release, now turned dark as he flashed over to the edge of the table in front of Eric's chair and sat down. "Eric, get a grip. It's not selfish for her to want to fight when it's about her."

"It's about me too!" Eric found himself almost shouting in his maker's face as he was overcome with the same paralyzing fear he had felt leading up to the first battle as he was feeling now that the second one was approaching. He didn't want to hurt Allison, but if it kept her from considering going into battle again, then he would do whatever it took. He wasn't going to risk her life again. "She and I are in a relationship and she should have considered that before she even tried to get involved in this."

"You think it's easy for her to want to go back into another war with witches? You think she wants to do that after what happened the last time? I can't even imagine how tough it had to have been for her to come to that decision after what she went through." Godric tried to bestow upon him the logical side that he felt Eric was so clearly lacking these days. "And you throwing that in her face was just so completely harsh."

"Oh please, it's not that big a deal." He rolled his eyes, brushing past Godric as he stood up out of his chair. "Her feelings have like a 2 second rebound reflex and then she'll forgive me and it will be fine again. You know she never stays mad for too long."

"Eric..." Godric began to say warningly but Eric didn't want to listen to this anymore. He already had enough to deal with and listening to his maker point out his harshness was not something he was willing to keep sticking around for. "Listen to reason..."

"No! I will not lose her again. It was hard enough having to watch her die once, but I got lucky that she was able to come back to me. I will not rock the boat because next time I may not have the same outcome." Eric snapped, not caring if the others were still in the house to hear him. He had unleashed his worry and concern over this from the night before and he wasn't about to hold back now. "She's suppose to always be with me and I refuse to lose her this soon. And if I have to decide that she can't participate, then that's what I'll do. Even if she hates me for it."

"I understand why you feel this way my child, but you are not being completely logical right now. And I get that it is from the stress of yet another battle, but being harsh is not going to keep you and Allison together, it will just drive you apart." Godric was also on his feet now, his arms hanging down by his sides as calmly as he had been since walking in and Eric hated that. He wanted to be that way right now and he couldn't because the damn love of his life was insisting on going into battle with them and would put up a fight if she had to. Godric knew both sides of this but yet he seemed to be siding with Allison. "My son, you're not being fair."

"I don't give a fuck about being fair. I could care less whether I'm being a bastard or not for not wanting her to risk her life again. And you can say what you want about me, but I'm not budging, so don't push me on this." Eric growled, walking past his maker and out the door towards the staircase and in the process saw that the house was empty of the others which was just perfect as he was in no mood to hear another voice. He spotted Godric in the doorway of the library, watching him leave with that damn look on his face that made Eric's cold blood boil. "I will not have her die on me again."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"Do you want to.."

"No."

"But if I could just make a point..."

"Not in the mood to hear it."

"You're not being logical."

"I don't care."

"Eric was just..."

"Since when did you become Eric's biggest fan?" I demanded furiously, whipping around from my spot against the railing on the back porch and looked at Louie with a glare, which would count as the first time I looked at anyone in the eye since I went storming out of the house after my argument with that big stupid viking. Louie had appeared behind me not too long after I first came out on the porch but he had the decency to not say anything in the beginning because I think he could sense how pissed I still was. And I just wanted to stew in my own fury. But then Louie had to ruin it by bringing up Eric in the worse possible way. I knew he was only trying to comfort me, but he was doing a terrible job at it. "I mean seriously. You have never said anything nice about him."

"I don't particularly like Eric and in fact, I think he's a major prick. I don't like how he talks to anyone and especially not how he talked to you." Louie stated, his face showing just how much he was not liking the vampire half his age. "But I'm just saying he may have a point when he said it didn't work out so well the last time for you."

"I don't believe this. It is so unbelievable." I threw my hands up in the air, nearly smacking Louie in the face but it would have hurt me more then him. "Whose side are you on Louie?"

"Yours of course. I'm just saying you have to be smart about how you act about this situation." Louie raised his hands defensively even though he looked amused by my outburst. " You can't just go running into another battle for the sole reason to just prove to Eric that you can."

"So what exactly am I suppose to do?" I asked, feeling my frustration starting to rise and I had to turn away from Louie before I lashed out and did something stupid like try to punch him. "Just sit back and let everyone else risk their lives when it's about me? How is that fair?"

"You're right, it's so not fair to have so many people who care about you that they're willing to fight for you a second time against a bunch of witches." Louie reached out and squeezed my shoulder, his fingers then patting me gently before saying. "Really unfair."

"Come on, you know that's not what I meant." I turned back around to send him a pointed look. "I just meant that..."

"He just wants to protect you and this is the only way he knows how." Louie shrugged, crossing over to the top of the porch steps with his hands in his front pockets. "By keeping you away from an enemy that killed you before."

"It won't be like last time, that's what you and him seem to be forgetting." I joined Louie at the edge of the porch almost in a huff as we stood there side by side with nothing but the moonlight to offer any visibility. "It's not going to be as bad as what happened a few months ago."

"You don't know that. If you go into battle you may not be coming back to Eric this time. And that will destroy him if he has to see you die for a second time. But it will be worse if you can't get back. If he loses you forever then he will never be the same." Louie's voice took on a much more serious tone as he cocked his head to the side to look at me. "No one should lose the person they love."

"Yea, you're right." I could only nod and look back on to the dark grass, knowing he wasn't talking about Eric as much as he was referring to his predicament with Helen. I never thought that anything in my life could remind him of his past but I guess I was wrong. This battle with the witches and the possibility of death was reminding him of the Faerie he thought he had lost and I felt for him very deeply at that moment. But I knew he wouldn't want me to bring that out in the open, so I simply just stood there and said. "I'll give Eric a break."

* * *

><p><em><span>2 hours later<span>_

"I so did not sign up for this melodrama those two have going on. But she's lucky I like her so much or else I would never deal with this shit." Louie chuckled lightly to himself as he moved through the dark woods back towards his home and as he moved he couldn't help but think of the frustrated girl he had left behind. He saw exactly where she was coming from and he didn't blame her for wanting to go against Eric's wishes just to do what she wanted. She was strong willed and she didn't even know it, but Louie did. He saw it in her face when he tried to calm her down earlier. She would be fine if she just used her head and didn't let herself be driven by emotions. She was a lot like a vampire personality in that way.

He could have gotten home quicker then he was but he preferred to go at a more human pace and enjoyed the peacefulness of the woods at night. He found it comforting to be out here and could almost pretend that he was all alone in the world and he sometimes he liked that feeling. At least if there was nothing else in the world then he couldn't be bothered. Hence why he had built this house so deep into the forest, so he could ensure that he would hardly ever be bothered and besides the occasional harassment from Godric or the now more common visit from Allison, he was virtually alone and he would like to keep it that way.

But as he broke through the treeline and came into sight of his house, luck was not on his side as his eyes shot towards the porch where there was a waiting figure with long blonde hair whose face he wold recognize any time or anywhere.

"Oh dear God not this now too." He grumbled, stopping himself short of rolling his eyes as he approached the front of the house and Helen who had gotten to her feet when he appeared and looked at him hesitantly as he came to a stop and shook his head. "Are you stalking me now?"

"I'm not stalking, I was just observing. I've been keeping tabs on you and Godric over the past thousand years and I followed you and Allison back here after you left Mystic Falls. And I just followed your scent to this house tonight after the sun had set and I wanted to see where you called home." She explained, her words coming out so fast that they were almost incoherent, evident that she was more then just a little nervous. It was a trait that had been present before she had become a vampire and he almost smiled at the realization that it had carried over into her immortal life. She was almost like she had been the last time he saw her alive as she had been when he first met her. But it wasn't the same with them. It should have been but it wasn't. "Louie, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you this badly..."

"Ok stop it right there. I don't want to hear your excuses because there is no reason for why you would do this." Louie snapped harshly, feeling his anger reignite as it had 24 hours earlier upon seeing her and having the past brought up so soon afterward. He hadn't wanted to deal with this at all, he didn't want to see her even though his chest ached with wanting her and seeing how close she was and knowing if he just reached out then he could have her in his arms like she had been all those years ago. He just had to reach out and take her and it could all be normal again. Nothing would have changed. But everything had changed and in ways that he had never even considered and he didn't understand why. His face shot towards her in accusation. "Just tell me one thing. Did I not love you enough? Is that why you never thought to stick around to tell me you were still alive? What..did you hate me so much in the end that you would keep this from me?"

"I could never hate you. I still love you." Helen's voice trembled and even in the dark, he could see her green eyes rimming darkly, showing that she was tearing up with blood. She crossed her arms and turned away from him. "I just didn't want you to know me like this. I didn't want you to see me as a monster. I wanted you to remember me like I was before I was turned."

"You don't get to make that fucking choice on your own damn it!" He shouted, startling her to the point where she jumped slightly and looked back at him nervously again. He stepped back, he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to yell at her but he couldn't help the hatred he felt for what had happened. "You should have told me."

"I know. I knew it even back then, but I didn't want to take the right road because it was too hard. And it has tormented me for years." She told him, her long blonde hair blowing in the wind identically to the way it had the night before he left her in Godric care and vowed to return to her once he had done what he set out to do. She was beautiful back then and she was forever beautiful now. But he couldn't remember that as his anger was blocking his previously judgment of her. "As I was making that choice, it seemed right at the time."

"It wouldn't have mattered to me you know. I wouldn't have cared that you had been turned, it wouldn't have changed anything with us. I still would have loved you." He said, his voice sounding heavy even to him as he confessed what he had been thinking since last night. It was true, if he had known she had become a vampire a thousand years ago then he wouldn't have cared. In fact, he would have been happy even if he had never liked the idea before. At least it would have meant that they would have forever together. Instead, this was their reality. " I loved you so much that I would have taken any part of you that I could get. I would have rather had you as a vampire, instead of thinking you were dead for a thousand years. But you didn't love me enough to trust that."

"It was never about how much I loved you or Godric. I was just a fool for running from you and I always wished I could have gone back." She confessed, her now pale face looking at him earnestly as she seemed to silently beg him to let her back in again. "I can't take back what I did, but I can move forward and not make the same mistake again. I won't leaven you again."

"Well I don't want you here and I do want you to leave me." Louie said, not convinced of her sincerity and stepped away from her when she moved closer to him. "We can't be together Helen. So just go..."

"No!" She snapped, a fire blazing up from deep inside of her as she stared him down with more intensity then she ever had before. "I know you don't really mean that.."

"Actually I do." He cut in, not caring if he hurt her.

"But I won't push you any further. I don't want to hurt you anymore, so I will leave on my own accord." She stated, sending him one last glance before walking straight passed him for the treeline and it took everything he had in him not to grab her arm when she moved by him. But he did watch her walk away, taking note of how her hair blew before she came to a stop and looked over her shoulder and caught his eyes. It was then that she opened her mouth and hit him with one of the craziest things he had ever heard in the last couple of years. "You know what Louie? Whether we're together or apart, one thing I know is certain. You and I are soul mates and we will find a way back to each other someday."

And then she was gone with nothing more the a rustle of branches and a gust of wind to show she had been there at all and hadn't just been a dream.

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"Are we going to talk about this or what?" Eric's voice came at me from the doorway of our bedroom, addressing me for the first time in hours since we had both stormed away in anger. I looked up from the spot on the wall I had been staring at and allowed my eyes to find his face as he walked towards me with a heavily guarded look on his face. "So are we?"

Eric and I literally hadn't spoken since that meeting downstairs with the others. I knew Godric had talked to him and Louie had spoken to me about Eric, but neither of us had made the move to break the tension in the house that had driven the others away. Now it was just the two of us and we had no choice but to confront one another unless we wanted to end the night sleeping in separate rooms

"It depends..." I said back, swinging my legs over the side of the bed so my toes brushed the carpet as I eyed Eric. "Are you still going to be a dick for the rest of the night?"

"Ok, I'm going to be the mature one and stop it right there." Eric held up a hand as if that was going to keep me from saying anything before he charged ahead. "We are not going to fight about this anymore. And we're not even going to let this turn into another near fight like we had downstairs. Nor are we going to hold a grudge. We are just going to let it go."

"Just let it go? Who are you, Godric?" I replied more sarcastically then I meant to as he took a seat next to me, his body language not relaxing from its serious hold. "Eric, this isn't some normal disagreement with us. This is about an upcoming war with the witches that could happen any..."

"I know and that's exactly why we're not going to talk about it. If we don't talk then we won't fight." He explained, and I watched as he crossed his ankles once before keeping them apart as he spoke. "We will talk about it once we have more information on the witches and their whereabouts. But until then, there isn't anything to discuss since we don't even know when they could come. Even you have to see the logic in that."

"Yea, I guess I kind of do." I grumbled in agreement even though I didn't want to. But Eric did have a good point. Even if I did want to go to war, I couldn't exactly do that if I didn't know where they were in the first place. No information meant no good outcome. So even though it killed me to admit that Eric was in the right, I couldn't just ignore it. So I turned to look at him and reluctantly clucked my tongue at him. "Ok fine, I will let it go for now."

"I knew you would." He smiled triumphantly, grabbing me around the waist and tossed me backwards on the bed, barely giving me time to land before he was on top of me. "I love being right."

"You may be right this time but don't think this is the end of it." I warned him, knowing full well how easily I gave in to him and did my best to at least put up some resistance. "Once we know where the witches are then it is game on."

"Yea sure, whatever." Eric's blue eyes rolled so fast they were a blur as he stared down at me, his hands up near my face as his fingers got lost in my dark hair. "You have my word that once we know anything, then we will talk about this."

"And since when has your word ever meant anything?" I asked with a smirked before lifting my head up to his so I could kiss him, any thought of being mad going out the window once our lips met. It wasn't like being intimate with him solved all our problems but it did help get us over these rough patches. I pulled away from him, touching his forehead to brush away a stray piece of hair before saying. "I don't like fighting with you."

"And I don't like talking to you the way I did." He admitted, his tough exterior softening a bit as he rolled off me and on to his back. "But I'm only trying to keep you safe."

"I know." I nodded, truly knowing he meant it in his own way. "And I'm sorry if I didn't think more clearly about how this affected you. We are a couple now and I have to make decisions with you in mind."

"Well not really since we're not married. You don't have to obey me just yet." He said with a side long smirk as he always did when he casually brought up marriage. But for us it was anything but casual as he was always so serious about it. "But I would like it if I'm at least a little bit on your mind."

"Always...Well, almost always."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Forgive me my love for what I have to do right now." Eric found himself whispering into the ear of Allison's deeply sleeping form later on that night as she had soon fallen into a slumber not long after they had stopped talking. He hadn't dared to make a move away from her until he was fairly certain she wouldn't be waking up any time soon from his movements. But a look at the clock said he had to get out of the room before it was too late. So he pressed his lips to her neck and quietly said. "Sleep tight my little Fae."

Then he left her there and hurried from the room down the darkened hallway to the second floor landing where he proceed to forgo the stairs and just jumped right from where he was to the tiled floor without barely making a sound. Then he walked through the downstairs hallway and through the kitchen to the back door, where he could see a group of people milling about waiting for him. He grinned to himself, his hand tucking his phone in his back pocket before he opened the back door and laid eyes on the people he had asked back here when he and Allison had stormed away from each other. Godric, Louie, Pam, Molly, Sookie and Bill all were standing there in the darkness waiting for him at the exact time he had told them to. And now that he was here, he could hurry up and say what was so important that he couldn't say to Allison.

"I got a text message from Isabel earlier this evening and I found it to be of great importance." He told the group, smirking as he thought of how long he had kept this little bit of information form them. He normally wasn't good at this kind of stuff but keeping quiet had been a necessity for a reason they wouldn't understand until he explained completely. "That spy she has had following the Dallas coven for the past year has gotten back with their whereabouts. Apparently they have taken refuge in a warehouse right outside Louisiana on some boon-dock dirt road where its just..."

"Far enough away to not be spotted by any passerby when they practice their dark magic." Molly interrupted as she caught on to his thought and finished it before he could. "This is good news isn't it?"

"Of course it is, it's the perfect location and we didn't even have to try. No one will know what the hell is going on when we go there. And we are going as soon as we can, we need a sneak attack if we hope to pull this off the way we want to." Eric told them, looking to Godric in the hopes that he would approve of the war plan this time as he had with the first battle and surprisingly he was nodding in complete approval which Eric was not expecting after their talk earlier. But with his maker on board, he went on with the real reason they were meeting in secret. "But here is the catch. Allison can't know when we are leaving to go to war …."

"Wait a second! Do you honestly think you can go fight a battle and she won't know something is going on?" Sookie chimed in, raising her blonde eyebrows at everyone who liked this idea. "I mean, if she sees that Eric is not around or Godric or Louie or Bill or Pam, she is going to get suspicious and she will know something is up. Give her more credit then that."

"That's where you two come in." Eric said, pointing at her and Molly for their part to play. "You are going to keep her busy so she doesn't pick up on anything weird. The last thing I want is for her to find out about this and trying to join us."

"So we keep Allie in the dark? She knows nothing?" Godric asked, his lips pressing together tightly as Eric nodded swiftly.

"She cannot know that we know where the witches are...she stays ignorant to it until after we come back from the battle. But until then, not a word is spoken about this."

**A/N: oo bad boy eric...going behind Allie's back with a secret...oh this is not going to end well**


	35. Bring on the night

**Chapter 35 Bring on the night**

I woke up the next morning and laid there in the empty bed just staring up at the ceiling with my hands behind my head and a frown on my face. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I had this feeling that something was off. It wasn't a bad feeling per say, it was more like this dull sound in the back of my mind that was alerting me to something being off kilter. Maybe it was because of the way things had gone last night with Eric and I and I was just feeling the after effects of that or maybe it was because we still didn't know where thew witches were and I was just feeling the old strains of anxiety. But for whatever reason it was, it remained with me from the time I woke up almost 30 minutes ago up until now and I had a feeling it would last with me until the night. As for when it would let up, that I had no idea about.

_Ring...ring...ring..._

"Hello?" I asked more in question as I had not bothered to look at the screen when I picked up my cell phone after hearing it ring. It was still fairly early for me so I wasn't quite up to my regular functioning capabilities at the moment. "Hello.."

"Allison, it's Molly..." My birth mother's voice came clear through the phone, sounding far more chipper and awake then I currently was and it made me cringe as I was not ready for sch a perky tone this early. "Did I call too early? Were you still sleeping? Do you want me to call back? Did..."

"Ok, ok. Calm down and get off whatever caffeine I.v. you are on. I was already awake when you called, I just haven't gotten out of bed." I rolled my eyes at her frantically happy voice and fought the urge to groan at the headache I cold feel coming on. I don't know what was wrong with me today but I was just prone to the smallest thing to set me off. "So what's up? You must have called for a good reason."

"Can't a mother call the daughter she hasn't seen in nearly 24 years just to chat?" Molly asked jokingly, her tone more lighter this morning then it had been in the last few weeks and I wondered if that had a lot to do with the fact that she would never have to deal with Mark coming after her again, that had to have helped. But I don't it had everything to do with how happy she sounded. "Ok, I was actually calling to see if you had anything planned for the day."

"Not today. And until Eric wakes up then I'm free until night." I told her, looking to the side of the bed where my vampire would have been laying and touched the sheets with longing. I missed him already even though he was only down in the basement. But it wouldn't be long till I saw him again and until then I would keep busy and it looked like I may have the perfect distraction. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I actually have the day off from work and I didn't have anything planned myself and I just wanted to see if you would like to spend it with me." She stated, her request was so simple but it managed to bring a smile to my face as I sat up and swung my feet down to the floor. "So what do you say?"

"I say yes. It will be fun." I replied excitedly, feeling like she and I hadn't had all that much time to spend together since everything had started to happen and this might be one of those rare days we had together before the next battle with the witches happened which could occur any day or night in the near future. "So where should we meet?"

"Well actually, before we decide on that, there is probably something I should give you heads up about before it takes you by surprise." This was where Molly's tone went from light to a more serious tone, suggesting that whatever it was that she wanted to tell me about was not exactly something that would make me happy. Or at least not as calm as I should be. But what she said next took me by surprise but in the best possible way. "So I was thinking that I might bring Susan along with me..."

"Are you serious? That would be so great!" I exclaimed, practically shouting my sentiment as I nearly fell off the bed in my excitement at finally getting the chance to meet the younger sister I had only found out about not that long ago. I had always wanted siblings in the way that Sookie and Jason had each other, but obviously that was impossible after my parents had died. And Sookie and I had grown so close it was like we were sisters. But this was my real biological half sister and I was going to actually meet her today. It was the bright spot I had been looking for in this cloud of darkness hanging over me in the past month. "Oh my god that would be so fantastic."

"I'm glad you think so. She'll be thrilled as well." Molly said, sounding amused as I straightened myself up into a standing position before she spoke again. "So why don't we meet up at the park in downtown Shreveport at say 1:30?"

"That's perfect. See you then." I almost was incoherent as I spat this out before proceeding to drop the phone after hanging up and then went dancing around my bedroom in excited circles.

* * *

><p><em><span>That afternoon<span>_

"So I feel like I'm doing something really bad behind Allie's back by not filling her in on this." Molly said offhandedly the blonde sitting next to her on the park bench later that day. "Like it's almost like I'm hiding something.."

"Are you talking about that fact that she has no idea that everyone around her is conspiring to keep her out of the loop and its our job to keep her distracted for the day while everyone else goes to war tonight?" Sookie asked with her arms crossed over her chest and her long hair blowing in the wind as both women watched through the small crowd of children at the one little girl while they sat together and talked. "Or is it something else?"

"Something else." Molly answered, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she looked at her watch for what seemed like the tenth time in the last 15 minutes before glancing up at Sookie again. "I just feel like she is going to be caught off guard or suspicious when she shows up and sees you here and I never mentioned it. You know more then anyone how intuitive Allison is, she can pick up on any clue and shift in a situation and know something is off. And we promised to keep her occupied so she doesn't get curious about tonight and I worry that we may already be failing."

"I think you're reading too much into it and you just need to relax and look at more simply. Yes she may be taken aback by seeing me here, but you don't have to spin some big lie. Just use something logical like..." Sookie's voice trailed off as she tapped her chin with her fingers before her eyes lit up and she turned her head with a triumphant smile. "I got it! When Allie shows up, just tell her that you thought it would be a good idea for me to meet Susan as well since technically we are cousins. She will totally buy that."

"That does sound simple enough to pull off ." Molly had to agree but she still didn't relish the idea of lying to Allison for the entire day. But she really had no choice, being that she would need Sookie's help to keep Allison's mind from drifting away to wanting to go back to the house tonight. It was for the girl's own good, after all. It wasn't like the last time where Molly was falsely on the side of the Dallas coven and could do her own magic on the dagger to ensure that Allison could be resurrected. This time she was on the other side and there was no way she could make sure any weapon they used would keep her daughter from truly passing on. And the only option they had was to keep her in the dark about the battle tonight. And she would do anything to keep Allison from going through death ever again, even if it meant putting her through a tangled mess of lies for a full 24 hours. She may be pissed, but it would be for the greater good. She looked at Sookie with a shrug and said. "Ok, I'll do it."

"Do what?" Allison's voice came from behind them and they both turned, startled that they hadn't even heard her approaching footsteps and there she was catching the very end of their conversation as she came around the side of the bench just as they stood up. "Sookie? What are you doing here?"

"I called her actually, right after I called you." Molly stammered, immediately going into the lie before she cold talk herself out of it. She motioned for Allison to come sit down with them and once she was, she carried on and felt worse then ever for lying but she did a pretty good job at keeping up a good poker face. "I thought that since she's your cousin, it might be nice for her to meet Susan as well since technically they would be cousins as well."

"I don't know why I didn't think of that." Allison said almost apologetically, looking at Sookie briefly before turning her face forward to look around. "So..now that I'm here...where is she?"

"Right over there." Molly stretched her arm out and pointed across the sandy playground to the farthest corner to a swing set where her little blonde daughter was swinging with a friend she had made when they arrived here over an hour ago. Molly watched as Allison's eyes followed in her finger's direction and caught sight of the little girl in question. "There she is, your little sister."

"Oh wow." Allie could not seem to stop the smile that quickly appeared on her lips as she sat back on the bench with her hands on her knees. "She's so cute."

Molly couldn't help but smile in return at the sentiment and any apprehension she had about her two girls meeting was gone at that very moment. It wasn't that she was afraid of Allie not wanting anything to do with Susan. It was more like that after all the shocks and secrets that had been coming at Allison lately, no one would have blamed her for not wanting to have one more upheaval of her life. And meeting the half sister she never knew she had was definitely bound to affect her. But the way she spoke with that tone and that grin pushed aside any worries Molly had and she knew it was all going to be alright.

Well, at least this part of the day was.

"I think it's time for introductions to be made." Molly found herself saying as she spotted Susan catching sight of the now three person group and was coming over immediately to investigate as she always did at something new. She already met Sookie and had taken a shine to her, now it was the moment of truth when Susan met her big sister for the first time. "I told her she would be meeting you and she's excited about it."

Allison could only nod as the little girl ran closer to them, slowing down as she got within a few feet of the group and eyed the new arrival with eyes guarded as she reached Molly's side and began tugging on her blonde pigtails. Molly leaned down to pick the 3 year old up and brought her over the remaining few feet, watching as Allie's eyes got bigger and almost nervous.

"Susan, this is your big sister Allison."

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

_"Are you really my sister?"_

_"Of course I am." I said to the little girl sitting beside me on the swing set as we buried our feet in the sand and watched Sookie and our mother kept a close eye on us from their spot across the playground. Susan, upon being introduced to me had immediately taken me by the hand and dragged me off to the other side of the park where she was now proceeding to bombard me with questions in a way only a three year old could. "Why? You don't think your mom was telling you the truth?"_

_"Then why do you have brown hair?" She asked, her little features looking up at me curiously with those big blue eyes that she must have gotten from her birth father as Molly and I both had green eyes. Susan and I didn't look at all related. She made her swing come to a stop before cocking her head to the side to look at me again. "Mommy says she's your mommy too. But you look like her more."_

_"That's because I have a different daddy then you." I tried to explain in a way a child as young as her could understand and trying not to feel too elated that my birth father was now dead. "But we are sisters for sure."_

_"How old are you?" She asked next, her mind automatically jumping to the next thing that sprang out to her. _

_"I'm almost 24 years old." I smiled down at her, remembering that my birthday was not too far off and had almost slipped my mind with everything going on. But for the moment I couldn't dwell on anything negative, I was too caught up in this little girl who seemed completely eager to know me. "My birthday is coming up soon."_

_"I'm 3.." She told me, holding up her hand with the same amount of fingers as the wind blew back her blonde hair. "My birthday isn't until summer."_

_"Summer's a good time for a birthday." I murmured, nodding as I tucked back my own hair as the chilly wind became to pick up again. "Maybe I'll come to your birthday party next summer."_

_"That would be very fun." She smiled that toothy little grin at me that had captured my heart from the first moment she spoke to me and realized we were family. "Are you going to go away again?"_

_"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown, not understanding this sudden turn to something that appeared to make her look serious for the first time. "Who said I went away?"_

_"Mommy did. She told me this morning that she was very sad a few months ago when you went away and she didn't see you." Susan told me with a small shrug, her childlike explanation ringing a bell in my head and I knew she was referring to the time before I was resurrected and hearing my death said in those kind of words just made it seem that much more horrifying, especially coming out of a 3 year old's mouth. "You won't go away again will you? You'll be here so Mommy and I can see you?"_

_"Of course I will...I won't go away again."_

"Well you two seem to be getting along just fine." Sookie said to me with a bemused smile as she and Molly walked over to the swing set where Susan and I had been as the park had emptied out in the time we had been talking. Sookie leaned against a metal pole with her arms crossed and her hair whipping around from the more intense early evening wind. "And it all turned out well. No one hates each other."

"It takes a lot to make me hate someone." I replied with a chuckled, standing up and stepping over to the cement sidewalk path and kicked the sand off the soles of my shoes and and scooped some if it out from the inside with my fingers. I had barely stood up before I realized that the sky was very dark and the street lamps were coming on as it was now night time. I was amazed, the afternoon had gone by so quickly that I barely noticed the sun had gone down and it was now time to clear out. I looked at the sky, barely lit with the last rays of sun and I knew it wouldn't be long until Eric woke up and I wanted to see him and make sure we were on the same page after our little fight last night. I looked at Sookie and Molly who was re-tying Susan's shoes and said. "I had fun today but I think I'm going to head home and see..."

"You can't." Both Sookie and Molly instantly said, jumping on my statement before I could finish it, causing me to look at them weirdly.

"Excuse me?" I felt my face twist slightly at the way they were looking at me and then sent a small glance at each other, like they were sharing something that I wasn't aware of. "Why am I not allowed to go back to my own house? And why did you both jump to answer so suddenly?"

"You want the truth?" Sookie asked me, looking at Molly again who gave her a nod as if approving whatever it was that she was about to divulge to me. It made the feeling I had felt this morning grow a little bit more and I wondered if this was what it was leading up to. But what Sookie said next, changed all that as she suddenly looked almost sad. "We just want to spend a little more time with you before the um,,,you know, the uh confrontation. And we don't know how much time we have left before we have to go and do that and we just want to take advantage of it."

"Oh...well you could have said it like that instead of sounding like you were hiding something." I told them, relieved that it wasn't something serious that I wasn't aware of and just that they wanted more time with me. And they had a point, we could be on the verge of war any day or night now and who knew what could happen this time around. Some of us or all of us could be hurt or worse and that would be horrible if we didn't use the time we had left. So I had to agree with them. "Ok, then I'll stick around a little bit longer."

"Great, maybe we should go and get some dinner or something because I am really starving. I haven't eaten anything all day." Molly said, her eyes showing the emotion that had been behind Sookie's words and how it was diminishing right now as we walked out of the park towards the parking lot. "I was so nervous about you meeting Susan that I couldn't eat and..."

"Mommy you're silly." Susan chimed in, running up between Molly and I and tucked her hand into mine, warming my heart and bringing that stupid grin to the surface again. I saw Sookie smiling at me from the corner of my vision and I knew she was happy that for once things seemed to be going well for me. And I was glad too.

"Alright, well let's get out of here and go find a good restaurant." I told the small group, keeping that smile on my face but despite my tone and words, I couldn't help but feel that something still wasn't right. I just couldn't place my fingers on it.

* * *

><p><em><span>2 more hours later<span>_

Some thing was wrong. The feeling that had been with me in the park earlier was still there with me now and just like before and this morning, I couldn't find the reason for my uneasiness. There was no reason for why I thought there was something going on. Nothing had alerted me to the possibility of it and yet I just couldn't calm myself. I should have been able to. If Molly and Sookie knew something I didn't and it was serious then they would tell me. So why couldn't I relax? What the hell was wrong with me for always thinking something bad was going to happen? Maybe with everything that has happened lately, I was just losing my mind a little. I had to start trusting people again.

We had gone to dinner like we said we would, finding a nice little Italian restaurant in town that had good food, dark lighting and quiet music. And I did enjoy myself. It was very rare that I spent a night among other women and not with Eric. Most of the time I was always at his side or waiting for him to wake up s we could be together. But this night was refreshing because every one of these people with me were family and it was nice to just have that connection again, it was a connection I had been missing since my resurrection and for the first time since I crawled out of my grave I actually felt alive and present. Talking with Molly and Sookie and laughing at the things Susan said and did was just the kind of lighthearted fun that I needed right now. After all the trouble with Mark and the upcoming trouble with the witches, there wasn't a lot to keep my grounded and tied to this world, but being with my cousin, mother and sister did and I was trying my hardest to enjoy it to the fullest.

But I was reaching the point where all I wanted to do was go home and curl up with Eric. Maybe if he wasn't needed at the bar for something then he and I could make up for last night near disastrous end. I missed being close to him and we hadn't had that kind of moment since the night of my attack and even though I was around family, I couldn't help but want him in the worse possible way.

"You know what?" I said to the table as we sat around drinking coffee and Susan was eating dessert when I interrupted whatever it was that Sookie was saying to Molly and gained the attention of everyone. "Look I'm sorry if this seems rude, but I think I'm going to go home."

"Why?" Susan was the first to ask before Sookie or Molly could even formulate a response and when she spoke I could see they were momentarily distracted. "Aren't you having fun?"

"Yea aren't you?" Sookie asked, her face freezing as it always did when she thought she was the reason for ruining the fun. "Why would you want to leave?"

"Because I've been out all day, it's night and I want to go see Eric." I explained, knowing how shallow that sounded to want to trade time with my family for time with my vampire lover. But I couldn't help what I wanted right now. And I had spent the day with them because it was impossible to spend the day with Eric. And now that I could, I wanted to be with him in case the battle came up in the coming days and we wouldn't have a chance to be together. I looked at my cousin and then at Molly, seeing the same expression on both their faces. "What?"

"Nothing, we just don't wan to give you up yet." Sookie said, pushing aside her empty cup and looking at me sheepishly. "Eric has you all the time now that you guys live together and we barely ever hang out. I'm just trying to take advantage of it."

"Who's Eric?" Susan quipped, looking up from her ice cream curiously at the mention of someone she knew nothing about.

"Why don't we go to the movies?" Molly suggested, ignoring Susan's question completely and I could see why. It was one thing to explain the concept of a boyfriend to a 3 year old, it was on a whole different level when that boyfriend was a thousand year old vampire. And after my encounters with vampires of all sorts, I didn't want Susan any where near that part of my life. Not that I thought Eric would be the one to cause trouble, but he was connected to Godric and that obviously was an introduction I wanted to avoid making. So when Molly didn't go anywhere near it, I was glad. "It's still early enough that we can catch something decent."

"I agree." Sookie joined in a little too enthusiastically and with an all too happy expression that seemed almost fake and it was at this that made my uneasiness rage back up. "We never go to the movies anymore, so we should definitely go tonight. It would be fun."

"Uh, ok. Never thought you two would be so adamant about going to the movies this much, but whatever." I shrugged, trying to appear as calm as possible but I was really just wanting to blow up because I truly did know something was going on. I just had to get away for a few minutes to verify it to myself. I pushed my chair back and got to my feet. "I'll be right back, bathroom break."

"Why are you taking your purse?" Sookie asked curiously and I had to scramble quickly to come up with the first decent excuse to get away with it.

"Uh..." My hands clutched my bag, feeling my blood race in my veins and I was glad they weren't vampires because they would have know something was off right away. "Um..period."

"Mommy what's a period?" I heard Susan ask as I walked away from the table towards the bathroom on the other side of the restaurant and before I got too far away I heard Molly's response.

"Uh...it means end of sentence."

I hurried the rest of the way to the bathroom, my feet almost blurring as I practically ran and gained a few weird looks from the people working there but I could care less if they thought I was acting weird. I got into the room and walked all the way to the end of the long line of stalls and let myself in and locked the door before I leaned against it with my eyes closed.

Something was definitely wrong and I knew that more then ever right now after that conversation with Molly and Sookie.

I didn't really notice it before earlier in the day because I was so caught up in getting to know my little sister that I hadn't stopped to question that this was all so random and sudden. What would make Molly choose this day out of any other day before this to introduce me to Susan? Why on the verge of war did she think it was a good idea for me to meet her? Weird timing. But it wasn't just that, it was the way both Sookie and Molly appeared to be teaming up to keep me busy. The way they were finishing each others thoughts and backing up each others suggestion was a red flag that I hadn't really paid attention to before. And just when I thought we would part for the evening, they were pulling more things out for us to do that were guaranteed to keep me out and way from the house for the rest of the night. And if I didn't resist, then I'm sure they would be on the verge of suggesting a sleepover. Yea, something definitely was not right.

But the main thing that alerted me to something amiss was their minds. Or should I say the lack of activity coming from their heads. Not that I was purposely trying to read their minds, but usually when a person is relaxed, the occasional thought comes to me without me even trying. And it only occurred to me a few minutes ago that I hadn't even heard a stray thought, not once all day or into the night. I tried to push at their minds silently but there was nothing. That meant they were blocking. And if they were blocking so strongly that I couldn't even hear a word, then it meant they were hiding something.

And combine that with trying to keep me from going home, that pretty much summed it up to having to do with me. They knew something I didn't and I suspected it had to do with Eric.

"I have to get out of here." I said to myself, reaching over for the lock and let myself out into the main part of the bathroom. I saw my reflection as I passed by the mirrors on my way to the door and I looked guarded. But could you blame me?

I left the bright lights of the bathroom and into the softer lighting of the restaurant, pausing in my spot to wonder whether I should actually do what I was going to do. But then I realized if I didn't take this small window of opportunity now, then I would never get another chance for the rest of the night. And if something was wrong like I thought, then this was the only time I could ease my mind.

So I took one more look around before I headed for the front doors and left the restaurant for the streets of Shreveport.

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"Eric Northman, you better show your fucking ass right now or else I'm going to be really pissed off." I yelled out to him upon stomping into the house and slamming the door shut behind me before throwing my purse on the table next to the wall. I had been in a frenzy every since leaving the restaurant and waving down a taxi and it hadn't lessened in the drive over here. In fact it only increased as I got to the house and I had barely focused enough to pay the driver before I was storming up the front steps and walking into my home for the first time since I left this morning. I stood there in the middle of the hallway way with my hands on my hips for only a few seconds before Eric appeared from the back of the house with his hands in his pockets and a mock look of amusement on his face that I was not willing to deal with right now. I glared up at him before he could even reach me and demanded. "What the hell is going on?"

"Nice to see you too lover." He replied sarcastically, his answer showing he was trying very hard not to take me seriously which only further pushed me towards the edge and got me more pissed off then I already was. But not as much as his next comment did. "And for your information, nothing is going on."

"Why do I think that is complete bullshit?" I snapped up at him, annoyed that he was so much taller then me and I was always going to be the one looking up. It was a power position and it always seemed like he had the power. Well not tonight. "I know something is going on, so pretending like you don't know won't distract me. Sookie and Molly have been trying to keep me out of the house all day and night..."

"And that's a bad thing? They just want to spend time with you. I don't see what the big deal is." Eric shot back, still maintaining this innocent facade but I just had this innate feeling that he was the source behind my odd feelings from this morning. I never would have connected it at the time, but standing in front of him after this day, I just knew that he was the cause of it. But he kept insisting that it was nothing. "I don't know how I fit into all of this."

"Don't pretend like you don't have some kind of..." I was going to say he had a part to play in all this as I was reaching out to grab his arm to keep him in place. But as soon as my skin made contact with his, it seemed to open up that direct portal to his mind that no amount of effort could shut off and I was hearing something else that added to my suspicions.

_"..i knew she was coming back early. I should have known I couldn't sneak out without her knowing..."_

_"Maybe if I keep her distracted enough, she won't realize Godric, Louie, Bill and Pam are hiding out in the kitchen and they can get out before she raises too much of a fuss and ruins things..."_

"Ruin what exactly?" I hissed, releasing his arm after hearing enough of it to call him on his behavior and I stepped back before looking around him towards the doorway that lead into the kitchen. "You guys can come out now. I know you're in the house."

And of course none of them could hide the fact that I now knew after reading Eric's thoughts. Perhaps if I hadn't then I would be unaware of it but the point was that I did know and now that I had called them out they couldn't just pretend like they hadn't heard. And one by one they appeared. First Godric and then Pam, followed right behind by Louie and Bill. And they all stood in one neat little line like some kind formal guard with the same guarded expression on all their faces.

"Ok, now that the whole class is here maybe someone can explain..." I looked at them all harshly, feeling more intensely then ever that I hadn't been imagining this uneasiness and it had a root somewhere and apparently it was right here. And I couldn't understand why. "What's going on? Why do I sense that something is about to happen tonight?"

No one answered me. And in fact, no one even was looking at me as I darted my eyes around to each of their faces, they were all staring at the floor. Not one of these vampires was willing to hold my gaze and if there was any piece of evidence that made me suspicious then it was this. Vampires only did stuff like that when they were doing something behind someone's back and it was my back they were they were doing something behind. This combined with everything else that happened today made me think it was all leading up to something. Sookie and Molly constantly trying to keep me busy, keeping me out so I couldn't return to my house tonight for some reason. Eric and the others meeting together here when they thought I wouldn't be here. Eric wasn't answer my questions and neither was any of the others. It was as if they were all trying to make a plan together, a plan that did not include me

And that's when it hit me.

"No!" I whispered as soon as realization washed over me and I quickly shot my eyes over to Eric's face and he was the only to hold my stare and that's how I knew I was right. I was so right that it made all the blood drain from my face. "You're going to battle tonight?"

"Yes..." Eric nodded, not even bothering to lie as it was written clearly in his face that this was why they were all gathered here in our home. He stepped up to me, his hands landing on my shoulders before I could move away and he held me in place while he confessed to what I already knew. "That's why we all met up. It's why Sookie and Molly were trying to keep you busy far into the night. I didn't want you to come back and know what was going on, so we all planned this last night after you were sleeping..."

"You lied to me. You said you didn't know when we would be going to war. You said you didn't know where the witches were but you obviously do if you're going to fight tonight. And you planned this purposely to keep me out of it while trying to pretend like you knew nothing." I could only let my mouth hang open in shock partially because I was upset that he was trying to pull a fast one on me but also because I was annoyed with myself for not considering this. It was so classic Eric to do something like this and I should have seen it coming but I had let my mind be clouded with other things and now I was standing here surrounded by vampires who were all in on his plan except for me. I was beyond pissed. I looked up into his blue eyes and said. "Why would you lie to me?"

"To protect you." He told me right away, his gaze never wavering as he looked at me with that intense stare of his whenever he was trying to make a rare but serious point. "If we went to war without you knowing, then you couldn't try and join us."

"You had no right to try and do this behind me back. Any of you." I directed this statement at the whole group and not just Eric because he wasn't totally alone in this. They had all agreed to follow his plan and they all had a part in my anger. Even Louie who I never thought I could be angry with over anything. I looked back at Eric once more and stubbornly said. "I'm going with you."

"Like hell you are." Eric immediately said just like I knew he would. His eyes blazed up and his fingers tightened over my shoulders as he stared me in the eye. "You are not going into this battle. I made that mistake of letting yo go the last time and I won't make the same mistake again. You're not going."

"Yes I am. It's my life and I'm going to war for it, with all of you." I couldn't stop looking at Eric even though I was really addressing the whole group. I was seeing the pain and anguish going through his features and I understand in that moment why he had lied and I couldn't hate him for it. But I also couldn't just agree to stand back and let him fight when this was about me. He could risk dying for me but I couldn't risk dying for myself? In my own battle? That wasn't right. I pushed Eric's hands off me and said. "Eric, you have to let me go with you..."

"No. Absolutely not." Eric shook his head, he was as close to budging as I was and that was not very close at all. "I can't let you go back out in front of these people and risk losing you. I will not watch you die again."

"I'm not going to die. I promise you I won't." I almost broke as he said this to me and I knew it wasn't him putting on an act, this was how he really felt. He really was scared of losing me and I could understand why he would try to prevent that. I didn't want to die either. I just got this life back and I wanted more years with Eric. We had only begun to scratch the surface of our relationship and we should have hundreds of years like this past one, our bodies frozen in time because he was a vampire and me because I was a full blooded Fae. I would forever be like I was and I didn't want anything I had now to change. And I could make that certain if I just stayed here. But looking up at Eric's face, I imagined him dying tonight and I wasn't there with him. I couldn't let that happen. "You have to change your mind."

"No I don't and I'm not going to." He shook his head almost apologetically, reaching out with one hand to take me by the wrist to draw me right up against his chest. Like he wanted to feel me one last time before he left and the thought of him leaving me alone here made me grab him tightly in return. I felt his hand on my face and I tilted my head back to look at him and notice the odd, conflicted look on his face before he said something very cryptically. "Please forgive me for what I'm about to do..."

"What are you talking …." I began to ask, not understanding what he meant by that. But a second later I did understand it, and it wouldn't be until later when I could feel truly and utterly enraged for what he has done.

After Eric had drawn me in close to his body and had stopped speaking while I began, I didn't notice his other hand drifting until I felt something stab me suddenly in the back as I cried out in pain. I knew that feeling, that sharp sting. It wasn't a knife or dagger. It was a syringe and not too long after I cold feel the effects of what was in it as I felt myself beginning to shut down. I felt my body start to wobble as my vision blurred and I got dizzy. Eric's hands steadied me but was going under fast. Sleep was quickly taken over me and I was barely conscious of anything except for Eric setting me down on something soft and before I completely lost sight of him, his face appeared in front of me in a blur.

"Please don't hate me for this." He whispered, his lips pressing against mine as I drifted away. "I will come back to you."

And then he was gone as I finally blacked out.

**A/N: So there you have it...the final chapter before the battle and eric has really gone above and beyond his usual brand of stupidity with this one...stabbing his girlfriend int he back with sedative..really eric?...oh well, cant do anything about it now...next chapter in the battle and that chapter ends very unexpectedly so stayed tune...only two more chapters left in this fic**


	36. The night it all ended

**Chapter 36 The night it all ended**

_"I still can't believe Eric did this...I can't believe we actually agreed to let him do it."_

_"I know. It seems barbaric but at the time it seemed like the only thing to guarantee to keep her from following after him. At least now they're gone and she can't find out where the battle is."_

_"She is going to be so mad at him when he shows his face again."_

_"If he shows up...who knows who is going to survive the war this time..."_

It was this statement from Molly that I heard through my haze of thoughts that finally forced me to open my eyes and focus on the room surrounding me. I was lying on the couch where Eric must have laid me after drugging me and although I still felt a little shaky from the sedatives, I was awake and I immediately sat up and brought my feet to the floor with a loud thud. My eyes went to the doorway where both Molly and Sookie had appeared in looking both relieved and nervous at me being awake and as we all stared at each other, I didn't quite know what to feel first. I wanted to yell and scream and be furious that they had allowed Eric to go to such a drastic length to keep me out of this battle. I wanted to cry out of betrayal for them all ganging up on me. I wanted to sit there in relief that I wasn't being forced to go through another battle this year. But the relief left me the moment my cousin and birth mother took a step towards me looking like they wanted to speak. And I wasn't about to let that happen.

"What...the...hell?" I demanded, my hands running through my hair to get it out of my eyes as I listened to the sound of quiet that filled the house when it didn't seem that long ago that it was filled with my yelling. "Eric fucking drugged me!"

"I told you she would be mad." Sookie said pointedly at Molly before setting her eyes on me sheepishly, her hands inching forward as if to touch me. "Allie, please don't take this personally..."

"Don't take it personally? Are you serious right now?" I snapped, rubbing the final itches of drowsiness from my eyes and sent a glare at the two of them. "I just got drugged to keep me out of a war I have every right to be fighting in but not before I find out that everyone else was in on it except me. How could you do this to me?"

"It was for your safety Allison, not to purposely hurt you." Molly took a chance to cut in and speak, her green eyes filling up with concern and a maternal protectiveness I had seen only a few times before. "Eric was adamant about keeping you alive and the only way to do that was to join together and plot against you. And when keeping you out of the house for the night failed, we had to resort to the next plan."

"So you let him drug me, oh that's so nice. Remind me to thank you." I replied sarcastically, spitting out the words so harshly that Molly visibly winced as if I had hit her. But I couldn't care about that right now. Manners were not high on my list of priorities. "So why are you two still here? Why haven't yo gone off to join the fight?"

"Because Eric didn't give you enough drugs to keep you unconscious for hours. You've only been out for 45 minutes." Sookie explained, taking a seat on the couch across from me after I sent her a look to avoid contact with me at all costs. "And he wanted us to stay here so that when you did wake up, you wouldn't go charging out the door trying to find out where they were and joining the fight."

"Wow, he really though this one through didn't he?" I wanted to yell so badly at that moment but I couldn't quite manage to summon the energy. I'm sure that once Eric came back then I would tear him a new ass hole, but until then I was stuck here with the knowledge that I had been kept in the dark and out of a war against my will. And I was pissed. But as I had felt previously, it all went quickly away when it settled on me heavily that Eric and the others were out there in the night, facing down the enemy alone. And at any moment, one of them could die and I was just sitting here doing nothing.

It was this thought that now brought me to my feet as I tried to shoot over to the door.

"Oh no you don't." Molly suddenly appeared in front of me, blocking me from going any further towards the front door. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here."

"Like hell I am." I growled, whirling around, intending to go out through the back door and escape through the woods but I fond that the other doorway out of the living room was being blocked by my cousin. I came to a stop, my hands clasping my hips furiously. "Sookie, don't do this to me. Get out of the way."

"I'm sorry Allie but I can't do that. I gave Eric my word that I wouldn't let you leave this house and I fully intend on keeping that promise..." She insisted and even though her voice was shaky and unsure, her face showed her determination. "I won't let you die again."

"That's not your decision to make." I grumbled, turning back to face Molly and tried to move passed her to the door but every time I side stepped, she was blocking my way each and every time. I pivoted on my heel, thinking it might be easier to get through Sookie, but just like with Molly, my cousin was keeping me in the very same place I had started in and this went on for quite a few minutes until it finally dawned on me that neither of them would budge. And once that hit me, I could already feel the tears start to well up. "You guys don't understand. I have to be there with him. I have to fight at his side, I can't sit here while he goes and risks his life for me. It's not fair and yea I may get hurt, but it will be nothing compared to the pain I will feel if he dies and I'm not there."

"Unfortunately, I do understand. Bill's fighting in this battle too and if I'm strong enough to let him go and know he will come back then you should be the same as well." Sookie said gently to me when the tears started falling and my shoulders sank in defeat. "Allie, I know it's hard..."

"Fuck you, you don't know shit." I hissed through my clenched teeth, trying to conjure up my fury and frustration so I could take it out on them. But it seemed once I gave in to the realization that I was stuck here in this house, then there was no turning back. "I could lose him because of this. Because these witches are after me. If he dies, it will be all my fault..."

"I know you feel responsible and scared and I would do anything to take that away for you but I can't do the thing you want me to do." Molly shook her head sadly but determined as I made my way back over to the couch and fell down onto the plush cushions with the hot tears still rolling. "No matter what happens,we can't let you go. This is the path we chose and we're sticking to it."

"I hate you. All of you." I yelled even though there was only the three of us here. Molly must have taken Susan home while I had been unconscious and now I was alone with her and Sookie, wanting to yank them both around by their hair. I hated them and the others for not respecting me enough to let me decide this on my own. Didn't they get how much it would hurt me to not be there and have to sit back at the house and wonder what was going on? How could they be so cruel to force this on me? I looked at my two family members through my fog of tears and shook my head. "I ….I..."

I couldn't even think of anything else to say so I just gave up and leaned over with my face in my hands and let the tears flow even harder. I didn't really hate them. I knew they were only doing this out of concern and love, but it didn't stop me from feeling beyond angry that they decided this between them without me. I was mad and scared knowing that Eric and Godric and the others were all out there fighting and I couldn't help them. This was about me, this whole war and I was trapped in my own house. I was powerless. There was nothing I could. I had no choice but to sit here and wait to see what the outcome would be from this battle.

And more importantly, who would come back to us by the end of the night.

* * *

><p><em><span>15 minutes later<span>_

"This is it. We've come to it at last." Eric found himself saying to Godric as they stood together in the shadows on the edge of the field and stared across the barren grass towards the warehouse where the witches were congregated and unaware of the vampires that now surrounded the building on each side. He had been standing by his maker's side for the past 30 minutes, not saying a word until just this moment when he realized that this truly was going to be the decide all night. He turned to see Godric looking up at him as calm as he had ever been and Eric could only shrug. "This is the night it all ends."

"There will not be a repeat, I won't allow it." Godric nodded to back up both their sentiments as he crossed his arms and arched his neck to the side to catch sight of the others standing hundreds of feet away. "I don't relish taking lives, but I know what must be done to ensure the safety of our loved ones."

"I can't do this for a 3rd time. It has to end tonight or else I will go even more crazy then I already have." Eric mumbled, his eyes leaving his maker's face and drifting back to the warehouse to the spot where his progeny was standing at the ready on the other side. "We made the mistake of letting the remaining witches live after what happened last time. But I will not make the same mistake again. It's either us or them. And I much prefer it to be them."

"It will be, you just have to have faith." Godric reminded him of the mantra they had repeated since leaving the house as he too kept the others in his line of vision. They were all just waiting for the right moment to descend on the building, it wasn't owned by a human, so they wouldn't have to be invited in. "Doubting yourself, even in the slightest could be an advantage to them. You know that."

"I can barely concentrate." Eric admitted, his eyes narrowing as his mind flashed back. "All I see is Allison being stabbed and dying right before my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it..."

"It's not the same situation, she's not here and she can't be hurt." Godric had to point out the obvious in such a tone that the images of his dead and bloodied girlfriend went clear out of his mind at the notion that she was safe and sound. And it was their group that he should be worrying about. "It's all going to turn out right this time. We're all going to walk away from this."

"I wish I could be as sure as..." Eric heard how his voice trailed off so suddenly as he felt a sudden flare up through his blood bond to Allison and he had to close his eyes for a second as he felt the agony his lover was feeling right now. It came at him, emotion after emotion, wave after wave, pain after pain. She was hurting emotionally right now and as he looked at Godric, he said the reason why. "The drugs wore off, Allison's awake and I think they told her everything. And she's upset."

"You can't think about that right now Eric." Godric replied sternly, his calm face twisting darkly. "You have to put her out of your mind this very instance and block her 100%. Or you will never be able to fight to your best degree."

"I know that, it's just hard. It came so suddenly." Eric stammered, feeling like he could be knocked over by the flood of emotion he was feeling. It was a little bit of everything, anger and sadness, betrayal and fear, love and loyalty. Anything and everything she was feeling was ringing loud and clear to him to the point where he could barely concentrate on anything. But he knew Godric had a point, if he allowed himself to feel Allison then he would be distracted and it cold end up beign fatal for him or one of the others. And although it would be tough as he had never completely blocked their bond before, he knew it had to be done. He needed his focus to be like tunnel vision on this warehouse. He couldn't be torn away by anything until the very last witch was dead, including Anna at his own hands. And it was this image of ripping Anna's head off that gave Eric the boost he needed to seal himself off from Allison. He could still sense the bond, but he could no longer feel anything from her and that's when he turned back to Godric and said. "Ok, let's do this. Let's get them."

Godric only smiled before they each turned their bodies to the rest of the field and snapped their fingers, a sound that could only be heard by vampires from any distance away. And once he could spot each of the others nod in response, that's when they finally left their spots and rushed across the dusty ground towards the warehouse. There was no sound besides the quiet wind of the night and nothing to give heed to their impending arrival. But something must have set them off in some matter because just as Eric was within10 feet of the front door, he was suddenly brought down to his knees by a sharp pain in his chest and he could barely gasp as a large bubble of blood exploding down the front of his shirt.

He had been shot. With silver bullets. They had been prepared. They had been expecting an attack.

Oh it was so on, right now.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back in Shreveport<span>_

"Allie, I really wish you would calm down and stop pacing."

"There's nothing we can do but wait and you dwelling on this so hard is just going to make it more of a torture to you."

"I know you can't help but think about it, but at least attempt to distract yourself. I'm worried about what this could do to you."

I continued to ignore both Molly and Sookie as I went ahead with my frantic pacing that had moved from the living room and now to the kitchen. I was trying and failing to keep myself calm and being that I wasn't allowed to leave their sight and go find the battle for myself, the only thing I could do to stop myself from throwing a chair through the window was to pace back and forth the entire length of the kitchen. I couldn't seem to stop doing it, it was the closest thing I would come to being distracted by. Since the conversation in the living room over 20 minutes ago, my mind had been going at warp speed to come up with some logical or insane way to get through to them so they would let me leave. But nothing had worked. I cried, yelled, sulked, and pouted but every argument was shot down with a resilient no and I was getting to the point where my anger was starting to be turned on them. Hence why I had resorted to pacing. At least if I was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other then I would direct my fury on them in a destructive kind of way.

But I had a feeling it would come to that, sooner rather then later.

"Ok, I get that you guys are worried about me and all that, but can you please just shut it?" And there when the fury, unleashed as my pace was grounded to a halt and I turned to look at them where they had been seated at the table since we came in here. They both look startled that I had finally spoken but I didn't want to put too much attention on that as I was now starting to shake out of frustration. "If you're not going to let me go fight with them, then stop talking about it."

"We're just trying to make the best of things..." Sookie tried to say but I was so annoyed by her continued sunny attitude in the face of a possible tragedy that I cut her off.

"For Christ Sakes, there is no possible way to make this situation ok. So stop trying to be all positive." I said sarcastically, knowing it was a low blow to take a swing at my cousin like that. But I was still feeling the effects of her involvement in this plan to keep me in the dark and if she was going to plot against me, then I wasn't going to be in the happy mood she wanted me to be in. "I would be way less stressed for the rest of the night if you would just tell me where the battle is."

"I'm sorry, you know we can't do that." Sookie's face twitched as if she were considering for just a moment to tell me the location. But then the determination resurfaced in her features and she was back to be stubborn. "Please don't make this harder then it has to be. You know how hard it is to be loyal to Eric, don't put me in a position to break a promise."

"Oh please, don't feed me that shi..." I was going to yell at her just as I felt my frustration boil over, but my voice was stolen away from me just as I was filled up with a sudden pain that I knew was not my own. I had come to a stop by the center island counter and my hand reached out to grip the edge as I felt my bond to Eric opening up to the worse kind of pain I had ever felt. "Oh my god."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Molly was the first to reach my side and I felt her hands on my back as I felt my throat let out a gasp. Molly grabbed me by the arms and stood me up straight to look me in the eyes. "Please don't tell me they are casting a spell on you from afar..."

"It's Eric, he's hurt." I managed to say, pulling away from her just as my vision swam with fresh tears. "I can feel his pain."

"Oh Allie." Sookie's face appeared in front of me, her arms going around my shaking form in an attempt to comfort me from the pain attacking my body. I could have handled it if the pain was my own. But feeling Eric being hurt was a million times worse then any kind of brutality I could be put through. I may have been angry that Eric had gone to such lengths to keep me out of battle, but I loved him more then life itself and knowing that he was now hurting was killing me.

And when the pain got worse a minute later, I knew just how much I couldn't stand this.

"They're torturing him." I said quietly, the realization hitting me far more harshly then the pain itself. This was what I had been fearing when talk of a second battle had come up. Not that I would die again, not that I would be hurt, but that Eric would now be the one to go through the worse kind of pain and it was happening. There was no denying the flashes of pain, it was torture all right. If any one knew that then it was definitely me. I struggled against Sookie as I said. "I have to help him, I can't leave him there."

"I know, I know you feel that way but the others will take care of him." Sookie tried to assure me, her hands rubbing circles on my back. "If you're feeling his pain then so are Godric and Pam. And they won't let the witches keep on doing this. They'll stop them."

"She's right. The others are more then capable of taking care of each other and fighting back the rest of the coven. That's why they didn't need a bigger army, they can win this battle with just them." Molly added in, leaning against the counter and her hand covered my wrist gently. "They may have hurt him now, but it will subside."

"I hope you're right..." I began to say but like before, I was cut off as my body jerk from a second round spasm of pain. My eyes watered and my breath caught in my throat, making it hard to get air into my lungs or take notice of anything around me. It was this pain that cut just a little bit sharper because it was a blood bond that came about from using my blood. I looked up at Sookie and whispered. "It's Godric now too, he's hurt."

"Block it out. Block your bonds right now." Sookie ordered me, her hands tightening on me but I pushed passed her as my body instinctively tried to drive me towards the door. I didn't get very far as Sookie was far more focused then I was and she was able to step back in front of me before I could reach for the handle. "Allie no! I know its hard now that you're feeling their pain but you can't let that take away your common..."

"Get out of the way." I growled, surprising myself with how nasty I sounded especially when I was feeling more scared then angry. I tried pushing at her but she was unrelenting in her stance and even shoved me backward to the counter. I felt my jaw drop open right before I said something I never thought I would say to her. "I mean it Sookie, if you don't move then I swear to God I will throw you across the room with my powers if I have to."

"Just wait a second, don't get all pissed off at your cousin when she's just trying to keep you in line. You may be able to get away with threatening her, but I will not stand for it." Molly was the first of the two to actually show anger towards me and when she pushed Sookie out of the way and looked down at me, I saw just how much was she was not going to budge. "I'm a Faerie too but I'm a witch first and foremost. And I will not hesitate to kick your ass and fight you back if it means keeping you from running out that door and getting yourself killed."

"You are such a bitch." I snapped right up at her, not feeling any regret for letting those words leave my lips. I didn't really think she was a bitch but I was so mad and so upset that neither of them could see how important it was for me to go to this battle that I was just saying whatever came to mind. "I seriously hate you both."

I felt my legs finally refuse to hold me up any longer and I slid down to the floor with my back against the counter and my arms wrapped around my legs. I felt my tears chock me as I leaned my head on my knees, allowing my hair to hide me from view. I knew they were only trying to help, but the more they kept refusing to let me do what I wanted, the worse it felt to know I was no closer to getting it. I felt Sookie and Molly both sit down on the floor on either side of me, each of them sighing heavily and making it apparent this battle was taking a toll on them and not just me.

"I know this is hard. My husband is there too and I'm worried about something happening to him also. But staying out of this is the best thing we can do." Sookie's hand landed back on my arm, her fingers squeezing gently but I refused to look at her. "We would only be a distraction to them and you know that. Leaving them on their own is the right thing to do."

"But if we were there, then they wouldn't be alone if they died." I said before my tears got the best of me and I found myself falling apart all over again.

* * *

><p><em><span>5 months ago (before the first war)<span>_

_"Is this really happening? Are we really going to war?"_

_"You say that like you've never been through a war before." Godric made a point of saying to his child as the two vampires stood together on the roof of the Shreveport house and looked at the clear black sky with only the moon to offer any visibility. Godric turned his head up to look at his progeny's tall form and frowned. "But this is different for you isn't it? More so then any other time in the past?"_

_"Of course it's different, the circumstances are different and so am I." Eric grumbled, showing that he didn't like to admit that he had evolved in his thousand years as a vampire but it was only obvious to those who knew him the best. And there was no hiding the change from his own maker. Their bond would tell the truth even if Eric tried to lie. "I wouldn't be questioning a fight or a war of any kind before. But now..."_

_"Now Allison's in the picture and you know what its like to have to fight for something that important to you." Godric couldn't help but smile at the thought that after all this time, his progeny had finally encountered someone who was changing who the former viking use to be. Granted it was being ruined by these witches but still, in a way it forced the change in Eric more then it would have just on it's own. And yet, Godric couldn't help but pity his child for what he was being forced to go through. "Do not worry my son, she will be alright. As will all the rest of us."_

_"You can't guarantee that." Eric hissed, finally turning his eyes away from the moon and looked down with a wrinkle in his pale forehead. "We're dealing with witches and as much as I hate to admit it, they are powerful. We don't have a good chance here."_

_"Now that is something I can guarantee is not true." Godric shook his head, crossing his arms with a flourish. "We have an entire vampire army going with us and Holly and her coven are fighting against the Dallas witches. So I say we have a pretty good shot at coming out of this alive."_

_"Your positive thinking is making me sick." Eric sneered, his face showing just how much doubt he had in the outcome of this battle. "You live in a fantasy world if you think there won't be any fatalities."_

_"I never said there wouldn't be deaths. I'm not so delusional to think that every one on our side will make it out alive." Godric had to tell his son the truth even though it was against his personality to think in the negative. But it was the reality they were facing. War meant death. And it wasn't always the bad guys who died. So they had to be ready that they were going to lose some of their numbers. "But Allison is not going to be one of those lost lives."_

_"I want to believe that but after all the ways the witches have tried to break us down and almost killed us in the past couple of weeks, it's hard not to think that Allison is going to be one of the first to die in this battle." Eric muttered, his face briefly clouding over with a frown that reflected the turmoil he was fighting on the inside and that he was refusing to show in full on the outside. "This war is about her, they want her. And they will go through our entire army to get to her. So even if we give it our best shot then she could still die."_

_"I know, I know." Godric saw just how much this was affecting Eric. It wasn't often that Eric let down his guard long enough to let someone into his life and he had done that and more when Allison walked into his world. And it almost seemed like a slap in the face by the universe. Everyone wanted Eric to be different then he was his entire vampire life and then when he finally started doing that, he was threatened with having the person responsible for that taken away from him. Of course Eric was agitated and prone to instability right now. Their entire existence was bound to this war. But Godric knew that didn't scare Eric as much as a life without Allison did. "It's stressful for all of us, but we're going to make it. I say that with complete confidence as a vampire."_

_"I'm scared of losing her." Eric quietly admitted in such a vulnerable voice that Godric found himself reaching out for his progeny's arm. "I can't lose her this soon. I just got her back and even before now I haven't had her all that long. I need more time. I can't watch her die in this battle. It will kill me."_

_"I won't let that happen my son, I won't let her die." Godric squeezed the much taller vampire's shoulder in an attempt to bring peace to the night's end. He wasn't saying this to simply comfort his progeny, he was saying it with the knowledge that if it came down to it, he wold do anything in his power to ensure the girl's safety. "If I have to die in her place then I will. You won't lose her. I promise."_

* * *

><p><em><span>45 minutes later<span>_

It was torture, pure torture. Waiting here to see what happened from this battle taking place was the worse kind of agony I had ever experienced and the night wasn't over by a long shot. And that only made me feel worse.

I hadn't said a word since I had collapsed to the kitchen floor almost an hour ago and had instead chose to express my frustration through the longest crying spell I had ever had. It was exhausting and painful and I thought the longer I went on doing it then it might make me feel better. It always had in the past, it always felt like I was unloading when I cried and I could let things go if I let the tears flow. But instead of it making me feel more at peace, I only lost more energy and now I was just sitting here, completely worn out and staring at the wall as I had for the longest time. Sookie and Molly were still sitting next to me but they weren't making any kind of noise at all, I think they were waiting for me to say something first. I guess I kind of made them nervous from my previous outbursts and they were scared to say anything for fear of sending me into another tail spin.

But it was too late for that. I was already spiraling out of control and not in the way I'm sure they thought I would.

It was my thoughts that were betraying me and I hated myself for giving myself over to such a darkness I had been trying to avoid. But it couldn't be taken back now. Once I gave voice to the possibility of anyone I knew dying, it was like a snowball effect and I couldn't fight back the image of seeing Eric dying in my mind's eye. It was more horrible then when I saw the fake Eric dying months ago. It was worse because it could actually happen tonight and I wasn't able to be with him if it did. I knew it was for my protection, that all of this was done to keep me safe. But I couldn't be grateful that they were trying to keep me alive. I was too hung up on the thought that Eric might die and I would be left with nothing.

"You know..."I began to say as I leaned my head back against the counter, my voice breaking the silence and brought both their faces whipping in my direction but I barely noticed as I kept on staring at the wall. "If something bad happens tonight, if Eric dies then nothing will ever be the same. I will never be the same."

"That's not true Allison." Sookie said, her voice sounding strained even to me as I could sense her stirring beside me. "You shouldn't talk like that. You don't know what's going to happen."

"She's right. None of us know for sure what the future holds after tonight. If you still had your visions, then that would be different. But you can't see what will happen and until you know there is something to be upset over, then you shouldn't hurt yourself like this." Molly nodded, her hands clasped around her knees as she spoke. "Please Allie, I know this hurts but try to..."

"I can't lose Eric. I can't." I didn't even know my own voice as I heard those words being spoken but I knew it was me because those words were resonating inside my head. "If he dies, then my life will be empty forever."

"Allie that's not going to happen." Sookie said this in such a way that I knew if I looked at her then I would see her eyes getting misty. She was always highly emotional when I was going through a tough time and if she saw that I was on the verge of having a break down, then she wouldn't be far behind. "Eric's not going to die. He's tough, they all are. But him especially. He's going to make it."

"I love him. I didn't want to love him in the beginning but now I can't imagine life without him." I shrugged off her fake confidence in the light of my current statement. I had never really ever admitted out loud that I didn't particularly like Eric in the beginning, and while I had been attracted to him physically right off the bat, I had always found him way too arrogant and possessive to be in a relationship with. But he had wormed his way into my heart and he had refused to leave. Even after the whole Mystic Falls and Damon coming back situation, Eric still had a hold on my heart and I suspected that was how it was suppose to be. The first person I ever loved was suppose to be the one I spent my years with. And now I may not get that chance because he was off fighting in a war that may end up taking him away from me. "We were suppose to have more time."

"You will." Molly tried the assuring thing again, her hand reaching out for me but something shuddered through my body at that moment that made me flinch and caused her to pull her hand away in scared anticipation. "What just happened?"

"It's gone. My bonds to Eric and Godric are gone." I felt those hot, boiling tears return to my eyes again once I said this. I wasn't stupid, I knew what this meant. When a bond to a vampire is suddenly broken, then that only meant one thing. "I just felt them a minute ago and now they just disappeared."

"That doesn't mean anything, you know that right?" Molly grabbed my face in her hands, turning my head in her direction as her voice filled with a frantic desperation. She was clinging to something, anything to keep me from thinking what I was thinking. "These witches are powerful, they could have done a spell that cut off any bonds the vampires had to anyone. It doesn't mean anyone has died."

"I want to believe that, but I don't." I didn't have the energy to even fake lie, I felt too run down and tired like I could fall asleep any moment and never wake up. Just like I assumed Eric and Godric were doing right now. I looked into my mother's eyes and said. "I could have lost them both just now."

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

_"So you want to hear something funny?" I asked Eric as we laid side by side out on the moonlit balcony of our bedroom and I turned my head to look up at him with a sheepish grin, amazed I hadn't brought this up sooner. It was just so comical. I rolled over onto my side with my hair hanging down on one side of my face and grinned. "You and I have never had a first date."_

_"And that's a problem?" Eric raised his eyebrows at me, quickly flipping over on to his stomach with a devious smirk on his lips that said he wasn't taking this serious at all like I was. "You've never brought this up before."_

_"I know, it just never really dawned on me until now. Especially after all this talk about marriage and our lives together. It got me thinking about everything that has happened to us and I just remember that we never had an official first date." I explained, running my fingers through my hair and watching his eyes as they watched me, his face only inches away from mine. "And actually, we've never had any kind of date at all."_

_"That's not true." Eric protested, sitting up immediately. "I've taken you out before.."_

_"No you haven't. You are such a bullshit liar." I giggled, drawing my body upwards and tucking my feet under me. "All those nights we spent together, at the bar, at the house. They don't count. You have to take me out in public in a place that doesn't include your business."_

_"Geez you act like I'm ashamed of you." He rolled his eyes sarcastically and I knew he wasn't at all ashamed of being seen with me. If he was, then he never would have brought me to Fantasia, where he was always recognized as the head honcho even by strangers. If he was ashamed, then he wouldn't have me at his side when he went there but he had. But still, that did not count as a date. "Come on, why is this such a big deal?"_

_"I never said it was, I just thought it was funny." I felt my lips twitch at Eric's obvious uncomfortable body language. He didn't like when mistakes were pointed out at him and even though I didn't see this as a mistake, to someone like Eric it was. "I mean, we want to get married one day and yet we've never actually dated like normal couples have. We haven't done it the right way. Normal people date and then get engaged..."_

_"When are you going to realize that we are not normal people?" He asked, his mouth turning upwards again as his hands reached out for me to pull me closer. "I'm a vampire, you're a faerie. And we've never done things normally."_

_"Yea, that's true." I nodded, having to give him points for that one. Because it was the truth. Eric was different from most vampires and I was different then the usual women he went for. So when you put us together, it was a highly unusual pairing and we didn't exactly play things by the norm. Our relationship has always been filled with the most unexpected twists and I was beginning to realize that this was how it was suppose to be. But the most important factor was that even if things weren't normal with us, Eric had stood by me through all of this and that was the more important aspect. I looked at him with a shrug. "You always said you would give me anything I wanted right?"_

_"I still stand by that, yes." He smirked in response, tugging on my arm so I was yanked into his lap and up against his chest. "If it's in my power to do then I will do it."_

_"Can I have your word that you will give me a first date with the almighty Eric Northman?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck. "And anything else I ask of you? Can I have you?"_

_"You can always have me." He stated with that oh so devious smile that said he was up to no good before touching my face and saying. "Now and forever, you will have me."_

* * *

><p><em><span>A few hours later<span>_

It's been hours. And I was still waiting. Waiting for a sign that he would come back to me. Waiting to see if they had all been killed. Waiting to see if I had lost every vampire that meant something to me in every kind of way. But there had been nothing. Nothing at all.

I had left the kitchen after feeling my blood bonds disappear and took to the living room and surprised myself when I actually fell asleep. I guess all that crying and emotional upheaval took a toll on a person and my body was just pulling to me close my eyes and rest. So I did. It didn't last long though, the nightmares of what cold have happened already started to play and they always woke up me up before I could get too far under. I tried to think positively but it didn't work and I just gave up any hope of resting until after I knew one way or another the outcome of this battle. Sookie and Molly were sitting on the couch opposite of me, each in their own world of thinking as I was and the air hadn't been filled with a noise any louder then a shuffle of feet or a shift of their bodies. Not one of us was willing to break the silence after my meltdown in the kitchen. I knew we all realized that no amount of comforting or kind words could possibly help me now and it was probably best to just stay quiet. Talking hadn't worked and I doubted it would. If Eric was dead or close to dead, then nothing they said could ever or would ever bring me peace. I would just be empty, and empty shell. Nothing would ever be the same...

A sudden bang at the front of the house brought us all out of our stupor and we jumped up almost in unison and tore out of the small living room located near the kitchen and fell out in to the hallway with a clear view of the closed front door. Only it wasn't closed anymore, it had hanging wide open and was filled with two bodies that I didn't think any of us were expecting to see. Out of the group, Louie and Bill were the last ones I thought I would see show up here.

"Oh my God you're alive!" Sookie was the first to say something and we all winced when it came out in a loud scream, watching as she rushed forward to meet her husband in a clash. Bill didn't grab on to her as tightly as she was grabbing him, but Sookie was the one giving the death grip as it was evident only now just how scared she had been that he wouldn't return. "I was so scared that you were going to die."

"It almost came to that, I won't lie. Those witches came prepared and they were shooting at us with silver. I think we all got shot at some point." Bill said, wrapping his arms around Sookie and motioning to his leg where it was clear there was a blood splatter that belonged to him. But it seemed like the bullet had been forced out long ago as he no longer seemed to be in pain. However, for just the tiniest of seconds, I saw Bill's eyes look at me and before I could decipher what it meant, he turned back to my cousin and smiled. "But I'm alright. Louie and I met up on our way back and we arrived here at nearly the same time."

It was then that I remembered Louie was even here as he had been quiet since entering the house. But now as I was standing alone in the hallway, he suddenly appeared in front of me and before I could say a word to him, I found myself locked up in his arms as he squeezed me tightly to him. It wasn't until we were touching that I realized just how scared I had been of losing him as well. In the short time we knew each other, he had become a great friend to me and if he had been killed, I knew just how much it would have hurt me. So I was being flooded with all kinds of emotions as we stood there, wondering if this was how it was always going to be in my life. I pulled back from him, wanting to ask where Eric and the others were. But before he or I could speak, the doorway was filled again with two more figures and I found myself stepping aside to see that their arrival had been followed by Pam and Godric. But no Eric.

"Where is he?" I demanded, feeling my eyes getting misty and I forgot all about my previous issues with Godric and once he was within reaching distance, I grabbed him and shook him as best as I could. "Why isn't Eric with you guys?"

"We got separated from him in battle." Godric said, never being one to blatantly lie to my face when it came Eric. But as soon as those words left his lips, I felt all the waves of panic and fear come crashing down on me and caused my legs to shake. Godric held on to me, his gentle eyes on my face as he spoke again. "After we all got shot, we were able to make it into the warehouse and really start the battle but it wasn't easy. They were ready for us and it took a while before we were able to get close enough to kill any of them. And then Eric decided he wanted to be the one to kill Anna himself. So he went after her towards the end and we haven't seen him since."

"We tried to find him." Pam spoke up, leaning against the wall and squeezed the blood out of her blonde hair as she spoke but it was her face that showed just how much she was scared and was trying not to let it show. "But he was no where to be seen and neither was that bitch. So we came back to the house in the hopes that he would already be here."

"Well he's not." I muttered, feeling a heavy stone sink into my stomach at the realization that not one of them had seen Eric in the final moments of this battle. And it took everything I had in me to not fall apart until I had some kind of answer. "And why did I feel my bonds to you and him disappear?"

" The witches must have done a spell to block our bonds to each other." Godric said, using the back of his hand to wipe off the blood that had been splattered across his cheek. "Because even when I could see Eric, I couldn't feel him."

"Neither could I." Pam backed it up quietly, her eyes cast downward to the floor but I knew hat despite her reluctance to look at anyone, she was feeling worried. I could hear it in her thoughts. "It was like the bonds didn't exist. I didn't know witches could do that."

"Witch craft is as different as the witch themselves." Molly explained, standing next to Sookie and Bill with her arms crossed. "A witch can be capable to doing anything if they have enough power."

"Including destroying blood bonds." I clenched my hands into tight fists and backed away with my back against a wall as it dawned on me that I was no closer to a true answer now that everyone else has returned except for the one I most wanted to see. I could feel the panic begin to set back in and it took all my remaining energy to stay standing and remember to breathe. "So he might be dead and we don't know..."

"I'm not dead." Eric voice came through the open doorway so out of the blue and for a second I thought it was just a figment of my imagination because there was just no possible way that the tall figure covered in blood standing there was the man that I loved. It just couldn't be. I still felt no bond to him, so he had to be dead. But I saw the way the others were staring at him and Pam actually threw herself into his arms and when he caught her, that's when I knew he was truly the Eric I had loved for over a year now. He was bloodied and ruined, but otherwise he was uninjured and it showed by what came out of his mouth. "You assholes actually thought I wouldn't walk away from this?"

It was this typical statement that finally brought me down to my knees as the tears I had been fighting back finally won their battle and started chocking me as I sank to the floor. I thought I had used up all my tears but I guess there were still some on reserve because they came rolling down my cheeks as rapidly as they had when I first cried hours ago. I was so relieved, so happy that this nightmare was over. That every one was alive and the man I loved had come back to me just like I had been hoping he would. He was alive, they were alive. The witches had been defeated or else they wouldn't have returned. If one thing was certain about all this, they were bound and determined to see every last one of them dead and they wouldn't have come back unless that was true. The nightmare that had been plaguing all of us for so long was over and I couldn't even contain myself long enough to express my happiness other then cry loudly.

"Ok, you need to stop this. I can't take any more tears." Eric's hand was on my face before I could even look up to meet his eyes. But it was already turned up to meet his and instead of seeing the effects of war in his features, I only saw his normal expression of playfulness and I was amazed that he could resort back to that so easily when I was falling apart. "Hey, why are you still crying? Everything's ok. I'm alive and I came back to you like I said I would. I thought you would be happy."

"I am happy." I leaned forward, needing to wrap my arms around him before I could truly believe he was alive. And once I felt his solid form against me, I had to tuck my head under his chin to avoid him having to see me cry again. "I just was so certain you had been killed and I was..."

"I know, but I didn't die. I'm right here and the witches are all dead, even Anna. It's finally over." Eric couldn't keep the merriment out of his voice as he pulled me back away from him so he could look into my eyes. And for a moment, he didn't say anything and stared at me. And I stared at him, needing to confirm that I wasn't dreaming and he really was here with me. I didn't even notice the others around us, it was only Eric and me. And I had a feeling that the way he was looking at me, Eric was trying to figure something out for himself. I tried to read his mind but he must have been blocking me because I didn't hear a word. But when he cupped my face and spoke a second later, I found out exactly what was on his mind. I barely heard the two words when he said them. "Marry me."

"What?" I felt my eyes welling up even harder, not quite understanding what he was getting at even though I knew what the words meant. "What are you saying?"

"I said marry me." His fingers were messed in my hair and I could see the others shuffling out of the room without saying a word to us, wanting to give us the privacy we needed even though they all heard what Eric had just said. "Please, marry me."

"What?" I felt like an idiot. It was the only response I could come up with even as I was beginning to get my focus back. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh my God, will you just marry him already!" Godric exclaimed in exasperation, his face peeking out briefly from around the corner of the doorway before it disappeared again and Eric and I were staring at one another.

"I asked you to marry me. I want you to be my wife and I made a promise to you a long time ago that when this was over, I would ask you again. And this is that time." Eric drew me closer to him, his hands pressing on either side of my face as our lips met in the first kiss in a post war kind of world for us. It was breath taking and full of the kind of love I had come to expect from Eric. And it was exactly like how I dreamed it would be when he proposed to me again. It was messy and unexpected and unconventional, but that was us. Eric pulled back and looked me in the eyes more seriously then he ever had before. "Now you need to give me an answer before I reconsider."

I laughed right then, only because it was so like Eric to make a joke in such a serious situation. But then again I couldn't expect anything less then that. Eric was himself and he would never apologize for that and I wouldn't want him any other way. I loved him through and through and any part of him that he would show me. There was nothing about him that could make me not want to take this next step with him and spend our lives together. It was everything I ever wanted and to know we had finally reached this point was the epitome of happiness for me. Nothing could tear us apart now. I reached for Eric's face, my thumbs going across his face before I finally said what my heart was screaming at me to say.

"Yes...I'll marry you."

**A/n: there you have it..the last chapter before thr finale...i cant believe its just about over...weird...seems like i just started it...but at least there are two more fics coming up for this series and boy is the next one awesome...as for the last chapter of this fic, it is filled with drama, emotion, confrontations, decisions and a few more secrets no one saw coming**


	37. Now lift your eyes to the sun

**Chapter 37 Now lift your eyes to the sun**

"Come on Allison. We have to talk about this." Eric said to me later that night as we laid side by side in bed, finally getting a chance to be completely alone after the harrowing and dramatic end to this war and it should have been a relaxing and celebratory moment. We were engaged, the witches were dead and this nightmare we had been fighting for months was finally over. Peace was upon us. And yet I laid there with my arms tightly crossed over myself glaring at the ceiling while Eric propped himself up on his elbow beside me with a smirk spreading across his lips. "You've been pouting the entire hour since the others left the house and the moment that front door closed, you turned around and hit me!"

"I should have punched you." I grumbled under my breath, tearing my eyes from the ceiling and turning them on Eric's less then serious face. "Or at least stabbed you with something silver to make it hurt more."

"You're still mad about what I did huh?" He asked with a devious smile as he ran his fingers up my arm before I smacked them away, only to elicit a laugh from him. "I guess that answers my question. But I figured proposing to you would cancel that out and you would have forgotten my little mistake."

"Little mistake? Are you serious right now?" I demanded, shooting up into a sitting position and turned around on the bed to find him still laying there like this was no big deal and I hadn't been refusing to speak to him for the past 60 minutes. "You fucking schemed behind my back and when that didn't work, you drugged me with sedatives! I'm beyond pissed at you right now."

"I can see that. You don't get to be this charming unless you're mad about something." Eric replied sarcastically, rolling on his back with his hands behind his head. "But I can't say I regret what I did."

"Oh course not, because that would be too human for the great Eric Northman to do." I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration. I was annoyed that he thought he could do this and was just laying there like nothing was going to be said against him for doing something so crazy and far out. He wasn't going to react like a normal person would, it was evident by the smile on his face. And that pushed me even further to the edge. "Why are you not taking this seriously?"

"Because we both know that in the end it was the only thing I could do to keep you safe this time around. You were bound and determined to go to war again and I was not about to watch you die for a second time. So I did the only I knew to do that would keep you from following after me. And yes it was over the top and a little too barbaric, but it was what was going to keep you alive and I will never be sorry for that." Eric shook his head up at me, his stubbornness worse then mine and it was shining clear through his eyes and I knew deep down that I would probably never get the best of him in that aspect. When Eric thought he was right, nothing could convince him otherwise. "I didn't want to hurt you but if a little hurt was going to keep you with me, then I would have done it every single time."

"I guess I can understand that, but it doesn't mean it was right." I pressed my lips together tightly, hating that he had managed to get to me with his words, but he had. He had a point, his actions were rooted in concern for my safety and mortality. So I couldn't hate him and be mad for too long for him just wanting to keep me around so we could have a life together. And hadn't it worked? I was alive and so was he and we were engaged. And none of that may have been possible if I had gone to war. I could have been a distraction that may have led to both our deaths. And if Eric hadn't have drugged me then nothing else would have stopped me from charging ahead after everyone. So perhaps Eric had made the right decision. I looked down at him, finding him smiling triumphantly and just shook my head. "Damn you!"

"Oh don't start pouting again. It will ruin the rest of the night." Eric teased, sitting up finally and leaned against the pillows at the head of the bed with his legs crossed at the ankle while he stared at me. "We should be celebrating. The war is over. The enemy is vanquished. And more importantly, we are engaged and finally get a chance to be happy. I think that's cause to forget all my mistakes and just relish this moment."

"Oh...you're good. Very good." I grimaced, running my fingers through my hair before sighing. "I can't say that I don't still want to hurt you for that, but I'm willing to let it go for now."

"Well thank God for that." Eric chuckled, obviously cheering on the inside that he had won this for the moment. But it was the sight of him sticking his hand in his pocket that gave me pause before he said. "It's good that you're letting it go. Because now I can give you this."

"Oh...dear...God." I could barely whisper this fractured sentence as I watched in pure shock as Eric pulled out what was probably the most beautiful and expensive looking ring I had ever seen in my life. I could only watch his movements in silence as he slipped the ring on to my finger and slid it into place, it fitting absolutely perfectly. It was white silver with plenty of glittering, sparkling diamonds that I knew Eric had insisted on when he picked it out. It was beautiful, just beautiful. I had never imagined that I would ever be engaged and even if by some miracle I was, I never thought I would have a ring this glorious on my finger. It was a testament to how much Eric was determined to give me the best he could, no matter what the cost. Eric loved his money and I knew he hated to spend it unless it was for himself. And this ring was clearly worth more then anything I had ever owned, including my cars over the years. If he was willing to put down this much money on an engagement ring, then he was trying to give me what he thought was the best. And if there was anything that could touch me so deeply, then it was that realization. I shook my head just as tears sprang to my eyes. "I hate you for this."

"For Christ sakes, are you crying again?" He asked with another smirk as he reached out for my arm to tug me back to his side. I went with no resistance, allowing him to pull me into his arms before he tilted my head back with his finger under my chin and said. "I love you. You know that right?"

"Yea, I know." I nodded, smiling at him for the first time since we were alone and allowing any remaining anger I had about his actions go out of my head as he kissed me softly and then pulled me down on his chest and we fell into silence. I don't know how long we laid there but it was long enough for me to get to thinking rather deeply about what was to come for us. For once, our lives weren't heading to a horribly tragic end or being split apart by our own actions. We were engaged, we were bonded together for life and when we married, we would become a family that the two of us were so clearly lacking to a degree. After all, who else...A sudden thought hit me and I shot up out of Eric's arms and spun around to face him. "Oh my god, you know what I just realized?"

"That you want to give me some mind blowing sex right about now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as there was a hint of hope in his eyes before he said. "Ok, tell me..."

"I don't know where this came from but Godric just popped into my head and it just occurred to me. He's your maker, which means he is like your father. And when we get married, he would kind of be like my father in law." I nearly laughed at the thought of the teenage looking vampire being my father in law. It was so weird to think that he would be that paternal figure in my life even though he would forever look like a teenage boy instead of a man. I looked at Eric, seeing the amusement in his face as well. "Holy shit that is weird to think about."

"Not nearly as weird as this, since you brought up our impending marriage and all..." Eric sat up again, his smile growing wider and I knew what he was about to say was going to entertain him immensely when he saw my reaction. "When we get married, you're taking on Pam as well. And since she is my child, she will be considered your step daughter."

"Nooooooooooo..." I screamed in mock disgust, hiding my face in the pillows as Eric's deep laugh rang in my ears.

* * *

><p><em><span>The next day<span>_

"Why am I here? Why am I doing this?" I asked myself in a near panicked whisper as I stood alone outside the front door of the one person I hadn't seen in weeks but had woken up this morning thinking about. I hadn't knocked yet, but I knew he was home, I could hear the flicker of his thoughts coming from inside as he was fiddling around with something. I knew I should have knocked by now instead of standing here for the past 20 minutes like a moron. But I just didn't have the guts. Especially when I thought of the news I had to share and who I was sharing it with.

I don't know how it happened, but the first thing I was thinking about when I opened my eyes thins morning was Sam. It was weird because I hadn't seen or spoken to him in weeks so there was no reason for me to have been thinking of him. It wasn't that I wasn't trying to keep in touch with him, it was more that with another war on the horizon and all the craziness to be had with Godric and Louie and Helen and then the fiasco with Mark, I just didn't want to bring Sam into the middle of that. But last night my life had taken a giant surge forward in my engagement to Eric and that brought up the idea that it wouldn't be long until everyone in my old home town would know I was going to marry Eric. And being that Sam and I had a history of ups and downs, I knew if he found out from someone other then me then all hell would break loose and our friendship would be even more beyond repair then it already was. Not that I thought he would take it well considering his previous feelings for me, but it would be less of a blow to him if I was the one to say it first. Hence why it had led me here to his front door this afternoon...

"Allison! What the hell are you doing here?" Sam's voice came at me so suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts and shocking me when I felt his strong arms wrap around me before I could even speak. I hadn't even notice the door had open and I was sure he was thinking I looked like an idiot just standing there, but he didn't seem to care as he stood back and smiled at me. "Why didn't you knock? Why haven't you called me at all in the last few weeks?"

"Sorry about that, things just got a little crazy in Shreveport." I replied back sheepishly, trying to regain my stability after being caught off guard by his appearance before I was ready for it. I knew from conversations with Sookie earlier today that Sam was aware of what had been going on but hadn't been informed of my engagement. And now as I was standing there staring up at him, I was suddenly afraid to say the words. "I know I should have come by sooner, but I was just trying to get re-adjusted after everything. You know?"

"You don't have to explain anything to me, I know things have been tough. That's kind of why I haven't been in touch lately either. I figured it was best to give you some space and time to yourself." He explained, releasing me from his hold and stepped back before motioning in through the open doorway he had jumped out of. Once I had stepped into his small living room and he had forced me to sit down on one of the couches, he spoke again with a rather wide smile. "So why did you come by today of all days? Didn't Sookie say the other battle just ended last night? I figured you would hanging out at home for the next few days to get sane again."

"Yea it did end last night, but I woke up this morning and I just had this urge to come see my old friend." I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though it was threatening to jump out of my mouth in a jumble. I nervously reached up and twirled my long hair around my fingers, trying to figure out how to break this. "Sam, there's something I need to …."

"What...the hell is that?" Sam's voice went cold rather quickly before his hand suddenly flashed out and grabbed my wrist, tugging my arm down so he could see my hand. And it was only then that I realized with a sinking feeling that I had been playing with my hair with the hand that housed my sparkling engagement ring. It had given away my secret before I could even attempt to ease the subject in to Sam. I fearfully looked up at his face that had turned from my hand to my eyes and I could tell without reading his mind that he knew what I was going to tell him. And he didn't like it. "He proposed to you? And you said yes? Are you fucking stupid?"

"Sam, don't you even go there." I frowned, pulling my hand away and hiding it even though the damage had already been done. I knew this wasn't going to end well and it wasn't suppose to happen until he and I had gotten through some catch up talk first. But as usual, my plans didn't work out and he was now staring at me with this mask of hurt on his face. "I know you're upset and I wanted to be the one to tell you for myself so it..."

"So what? It wouldn't upset me as much? Did you honestly think I was going to react well to this? I mean what did you think was going to happen?" He snapped, getting up from the couch and walking a few feet away with his hands on hips. "You don't stay in contact for months and then you just show up out of nowhere to rub it in my face that you're engaged..."

"That's not fair. You know me well enough to know I would never rub anything in your face, especially not something as sensitive as this." I spat back out, determined not to let this erupt into a fight like it had in the past. Sam was prone to outbursts when he was emotional and it was up to me to keep this from following in the tracks of our previous confrontations. I stood up with my arms crossed and said. "Sam, I'm not going to let you yell at me. I only came here so you wouldn't here it from someone else. And since you clearly aren't ready to be friends with me right now, I will just leave."

"That's probably a good idea." He agreed, ready to send me away only minutes after being reunited with each other. But I should have seen this coming when I first thought of how to break it to him. Sam was in love with me and no matter how sensitive I tried to be about news like this, he was never going to react with the kind of grace I wanted. And that was evident by what he said next. "I guess this is the end of any hope I had of us being anything more then friends. You and I will always just be stuck here like this."

"I don't know what you want me to say. I love him and I want to marry him and spend our lives together. And I'm sorry if that hurts you but I can't help that." I told him, trying to keep my voice from shaking but it was hard. I didn't think I could possibly watch a friendship deteriorate further then it had. But I was seeing do just that right before my eyes and in just a matter of minutes. I moved towards the door, pulling it open before looking back one last time. "I still want you to be my friend. But I will understand if you can't be that for me right now."

I didn't wait to hear his response and just stepped back out on to the porch and shut the door behind him. My car wasn't parked too far away but as I walked towards it with a heavy heart, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a familiar number. I kept the phone pressed to my ear as I got back behind the wheel and started up the car again, waiting for the voice to answer and when it did I was relieved.

"Molly, it's Allison. Listen, do you think you can come over ? I kind of just need someone to talk to..."

* * *

><p><em><span>That night<span>_

"He actually reacted that way? What is his problem?" Molly exclaimed, sitting back on the living room couch after I had finished relaying my encounter with Sam that afternoon to her and went silent to give her a chance to soak it all in. She of course, sharing my DNA, didn't waste more then a few seconds to come up with a response to what was on her mind and that didn't surprise me. That was how she operated and it was the same thing when I had called her asking for her to stop by the house today. She didn't need to think about it and almost immediately said yes. And although it took an hour before I was able to start talking about it, I felt better for divulging it to someone. "That boy seems a little too immature if he gets upset this easily."

"I would never say Sam is not mature, but he certainly doesn't take these things well at all." I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair and looking across the room to where Susan was sitting in front of the TV watching some cartoon while Molly and I spoke. It made me feel even better to have my family members around, I didn't quite feel as alone as I had when I left Bon Temps. "He's been in love with me for a while now and he keeps thinking that one of these days I will turn around and look at him the same way..."

"But that's his fault, not yours. You have never given him the idea that you wanted to take it further, he just made that all up in his head." Molly pointed out, already making that assumption after I had told her about my history with Sam and she seemed to share the same opinion as everyone else did about his behavior. "And if the friendship doesn't work out then it's on him and not you. You've tried and he keeps on taking two steps back."

"Glad to know someone else thinks the same thing." I nodded, leaning back against the cushions with my arm propped up on the back of the couch and sighed. "But you're right. I tried and its the only thing I can do. I can't force him to be ok with this. So I'm just going to let it go for now."

"That's the spirit." Molly practically cheered as her lips parted in a smile. "It's just another negative thing to bring you down and you just finally put a lot of bad things behind you. You deserve to move on and be happy for once in this new chapter of your life."

"You have no idea how right you are. This is the time to be celebrating and not sulking. Sam and I will work things out some where down the road. But right now, I am just going to relish that things are finally at a standstill." I said decidedly, more then prepared to put that aspect of my life away for now. I didn't want to spend any more time feeling bad about anything. I had spent months being afraid, sad and in pain. I wanted a break from all of it. Eric and I were going to get married and that set up a new part in our lives. And I was going to enjoy it as much as I could. I looked at Molly and smiled. "It feels so good to be able to breathe and relax and not worry about an enemy coming to get me. I finally get a chance to be normal."

"Or as normal as you can be, considering what you are." Molly corrected with a teasing grin, looking at me and then at Susan with a very maternal smile as if she were truly happy all through out her soul. "It's good that..."

Molly's voice was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing and for a second I thought it might be Eric. He had left a note saying he had some work to do at Fangtasia and had gone to spend the day there so he could get right down to his duties the moment the sun went down. And I thought maybe this was him coming through the door but the moment I heard the footsteps approach, I knew it wasn't him at all and when the figure appeared in the doorway to the living room, both Molly and I got to our feet.

"Godric." I said quietly, trying not to let my surprise show too much at seeing him here when Eric wasn't home. It meant that he had come here to see me as maker and progeny always knew where each other was. I looked at Molly who shrugged as I stared back at him with a frown. "What are you doing here..."

"Who's that?" A tiny voice demanded and all our heads shot across the room to Susan who had turned away from the show she was watching and was now looking at the new arrival with wide eyes and actually stepped closer to him. "What's your name?"

"Godric." He answered before I could stop him, his eyes briefly landing on my little half sister and for a second I felt an old fear come up in me and I found myself stepping in front of Susan to block her from Godric's sight. If he was bothered by this, he didn't show it on his face. "Allison I was hoping we could talk. Alone."

"That's fine, we were just leaving." Molly hurriedly said, looking like she was thinking the same thing I was and she walked across the room and grabbed Susan up in her arms before edging around Godric to the open front door, only stopping to whisper. "I will talk to you later."

"I'll be fine." I assured her, knowing she was worried about leaving me alone with Godric who had attacked me once before. But she had another daughter to worry about and I wasn't as worried about my safety as I was Susan's. So when the door shut behind them, I breathed a huge sigh of relief before turning to face my old friend. "Ok, speak."

* * *

><p><em><span>10 minutes later<span>_

"So why exactly are you here?" I asked Godric when the silence between us had gone on for just a little bit too long and I felt the need to break it before it got too heavy. I learned long ago that the longer you let things go unsaid, the harder it was to start talking even when you wanted to. So that was what had pushed me to at least acknowledge that his visit held some kind of purpose. "You had to have come here for a reason."

"I did. I don't have a lot of time, I'm suppose to be meeting with Louie and Helen but I had to come here first to see you." Godric shuffled uneasily in place, not looking at all like the vampire who had once had such a dark and violent past. It was hard to remember that Godric had once been capable of such horrific things because he looked so innocent and his personality was so calm and welcoming. You would never think he would commit such inhumane acts even though he was a vampire. But he had done those things, I had seen it for myself. But the way he was standing there before me now made it seem like that was another person entirely. "After the events of last night and knowing how close we all came to not existing anymore, it got me thinking of how many regrets I have in my life. And the biggest one had to be..."

"Oh no, do not go there." I cut him off almost instantly and immediately began shaking my head. I knew where he was going with this and I didn't even have to read his mind to know that. I stared at him intently. "I don't want to talk about the attack."

"But I think we have to. It's the only way I can even begin to heal the damage I have done." He charged ahead anyway, ignoring my pleading stare as the need to get the control became apparent. It was a trait I saw in Eric every day and it was more startling because it came from a vampire who had never really shown any kind of negative characteristic. At least up until the last few months. I watched as his arms, covered by long off white sleeves crossed over his chest. "Allison, what I did to you..."

"You can't even say it out loud can you?" I asked, feeling a slight flash of annoyance at that second. If Godric was going to have his way and force this conversation, then he at least needed to say exactly what he had done. "You attacked me. Threw me around. Bit me and then tried to drain every ounce of blood out of me. That's what you did to me."

"You're right, that is what I did. I won't deny it even though it pains me to remember that I almost killed someone I considered a very dear friend of mine." Godric made no attempt to counter my snippy comment and I think it was mostly because he knew I was right. There was no getting around the fact that the attack had been brutal and violent and as horrible as if it had been done by a stranger. But it was worse because it had been carried out by a friend, so much worse. I knew that and he certainly knew that. "I sense this is quickly going to end up in an argument and that is not why I came here."

"Then what did you expect to get out of this? That the threat of war just 24 hours ago would somehow make me forget what had happened and I would just let things go back to the way they were? That's not going to happen." I knew Godric wasn't stupid enough to think that, he had never been stupid enough to think that life could return to normal after so much hurt had been caused at his hands. But he had obviously tried to turn things around before and I got the sense that this was what he was trying to do now. Only I wasn't sure if it was possible. "How do you expect me to just let this go and act like it never happened?"

"I don't want you to pretend it never happened. First off you could never forget that, hell I can't even get that memory out of my head." Godric was being truthful, I could gauge that much and it would have been so easy to just give in and say it was going to be ok. He just looked so uncomfortable. "And secondly, I want you to remember what I did. Because if I try and pretend like it doesn't exist and try to be perfect, then I fear it will come out again. That was the mistake I made the last time and I won't do it again."

"So again, the same question. Why did you come here?" I frowned, slowly edging towards the stairs, not feeling entirely safe being here alone in the house with him. Who knew what cold set him off again? But I had barely raised my foot towards the first step when he flashed in front of me and I felt his hands on my arms. "Godric! What are you doing?"

"I just want to know if its possible to ever earn your forgiveness..."He asked, ignoring my nervous jump the second he touched me. It had been different last night when we had practically ran into each others arms, he was coming back from war and I had been so frantic that I didn't remember my issues with him. But tonight it was on a whole different level and I remembered just how much I had feared the vampire I once called my best friend. "I want to believe that we can reclaim our former bond but I need to know if it has any basis in reality."

"I don't know." I admitted, trying not to feel any apprehension over the fact that I was now in his grasp and he didn't seem to be letting go any time soon even as I squirmed. "Godric can you..."

"I'm sorry. I am sincerely and deeply sorry. You have to know that." He was desperate, I could see it in his eyes. After everything that had happened with Louie and Helen over the past few months, I knew he was grasping at something, anything, to keep himself sane. But I didn't know if I could offer that to him. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I never wanted to …."

"Godric, just let me go..." I told the 2000 year old vampire in front of me, who at the moment did not look anything like the feared immortal he once was. He looked like a scared little boy who just wanted me to tell him it would be alright. But I couldn't tell him that because it would be a lie. Nothing would be alright. Not after what he had done. I stepped away from him so he could no longer touch me and shook my head at him. "Please leave."

"As you wish.." Godric didn't seem like he was going to fight me on this and instead turned on his heels and walked towards the front door, fully intending on leaving without me having to rescind his invitation and it gave me an open window to start walking up the staircase. But I had barely gotten halfway up before he called out to me again, forcing me to turn around and face him. And when I looked at him in the door frame, his eyes were so full of regret and shame and guilt that it nearly broke my heart. "Will you never forgive me for what I have done to you?"

"Not this time, this time I was pushed to my breaking point. And you made me scared of you. So no. I don't think I can forgive you. At least not right now." I knew it wasn't the answer he wanted and even now I hated the look it put on his face. Because truthfully, I did want my friendship with Godric back. But it wouldn't happen overnight, no matter how much we both wished it could. He had done something horrible to me and I needed to almost grieve that betrayal in order to get passed it. And whether that happened, only time could tell. And a look at Godric in the front doorway told me that he knew it too. "It's going to take more time then you would like. I can't just forgive you because you said a few nice words. Time and patience are the only things that can fix this."

"Time and patience." Godric echoed my words before he nodded and disappeared from the doorway.

* * *

><p><em><span>Out in the woods<span>_

"So...is someone going to say something or not? Because if not then it doesn't make sense to remain here and waste each others time." Godric said out loud to the group of vampires, his voice breaking the silence of the still night woods as they all sat together in a circle for the first time. Louie, Godric, Helen and Gabriel, all of them brought here for a reason and yet had done nothing to move things towards that reason. And that was Helen's fault, she hadn't been able to say anything for quite a while. She had asked them all here, or more like pleaded as Louie did not want to hear any of this. But somehow Godric must have convinced him that it would be worth while because Louie had shown up and was sitting alone on a fallen tree trunk, arms crossed and not saying a word. It was this image that had scared her off of saying anything and what had lead Godric to finally breaking the silence. "I thought we all came here for a reason, to learn the truth. Isn't that why you called this meeting Helen?"

"Yes." She replied in a near whisper, looking to the side where Gabriel was sitting close by and he sent her an encouraging smile even though he too didn't know what she was about to tell them. But she was still grateful for his loyalty to be there for her even when he was still in the dark about her past. She looked back up to her two former lovers and clenched her hands tightly, wondering how in the hell she was suppose to do this. "I just don't know where to start exactly..."

"The beginning seems to be like a good place..." Louie spat out bitterly, his tone stinging her as it was full of anger and disgust, something he had never shown her before she was a vampire. He actually looked at her across the clearing with unfriendly eyes. "Or have you forgotten your mistakes from all those years ago?"

"Hey, don't be a jackass." Gabriel suddenly hissed, his eyes shooting over to Louie and even thought Gabriel was only 500 years old, he had a look in his eyes that said he would go up against Louie if he didn't like his tone. "This is tough for her alright. Be grateful she's telling us anything."

"I'm going to tell you everything Louie, I know I owe you that." She spoke directly to him, almost not taking notice of the others as she watched the man she had loved in the last moments of her former life. It was going to be hard to tell them all this, but it was only fair after what she put him and Godric through. And Gabriel too deserved to know the truth. He had been so patient with her since she turned him and even though he wanted to understand, he knew enough not to push too hard. But this was not about her, it was about them and she was only hoping that the truth would somehow fix her mistakes. "Well firstly, I should say that the blame you put on Godric for my supposed death was unwarranted. I wasn't attacked by werewolves like you were told."

"What?" Louie hissed, sitting up with his arms tightly crossed. "That's what I was told …."

"I know that was what you were told, but it wasn't true. I was never attacked by werewolves. That was a lie put out to everyone by my father." Helen found herself frowning down at her lap as she said this. It had been quite a long time since she had revisited these memories and remembering what her own father had said to her and then lied about was hard for her to drag back up again. But it had to be done. She could no longer keep it in. "My death was faked and no one knew the truth besides my parents."

"What do you mean faked?" Godric asked, his expression a little more kinder then Louie's was. "Are you saying that your mother and father planned this?"

"Sort of. It was more my father's doing and my mother just went along with it. But yes, they did plan for this to be the truth. Because they were ashamed of me." She told them, her eyes still on her lap as the night wind blew her blonde hair across her face. She could remember with such clarity the way her parents had looked at her when they had seen what she had become. She remembered the fear and sadness in her mother's eyes, as well as the shame and disgust coming from her father. And to him, she was still dead even though she had come back as a vampire. It still burned her to this day. "You see, even though they knew of you two, they didn't approve of my involvement with either one of you guys since the beginning because you were vampires. They never said it but I could hear their thoughts at night as they slept, expressing how disgraceful it was to be any way associated with our natural enemy. So when I became a vampire, they took it upon themselves to use it as a way to throw me out. They faked my death because they knew how much I loved the vampires and even more so for what I had become: a vampire/Faerie hybrid."

"They just cast you out? Just like that?" Gabriel asked, his frown turning from Louie to her and she looked at him sadly and nodded. "They disowned you because you were turned?"

"Yes. My father said I was no longer welcome in the village just as I was no longer welcome in the family. He said I wasn't his daughter and I was simply a monster that had no business among the Fae anymore. And since the village was surrounded by walls, I wasn't allowed to step through the entrance. So they told me to flee and said they were going to pass my death off as a result of being attacked by werewolves and that they had burned my body in a funeral ceremony. They didn't want anything to do with me." Helen felt her eyes get heavy with liquid but she had to fight those tears back if she had any intention of getting this all out. "They told the village their version of the truth and everyone had believed them. I watched from a hill in the distance as they lit a fire as evidence of my cremation."

"I remember seeing the burnt earth where they said your body had lied. It had brought me to my knees when they said you were dead." Louie murmured, not looking at any one as he spoke as he appeared to be in his own haze of thoughts and memories. "If you were outcast from the village, then why did you not wait for Godric or myself to return for you?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly, I was too overwhelmed with my recent turn and even more so by what my father had done. If I had still had a beating heart it would have broken. It still felt like that when he said he didn't want me anymore." Helen felt a lone red tear make its way down her pale cheek and she didn't bother to rub it away. Another one would just take its place. "It just tore apart whatever humanity I had left in me and I felt so deep into my own darkness that I just fled the country and left you two behind. I wandered the world alone for the next 500 years because I felt like I had no place where I belonged. It wasn't until I came across Gabriel and turned him that I began to feel my soul piece back together."

"I still don't understand completely..." Godric began, scratching his short brown hair with one hand. "Why would you think you had no where to belong if you knew both Louie and I loved you?"

"It's different. You two loved me when I was a Faerie, not a vampire. How could you still love me when I was no longer what you loved in the beginning?" She asked out loud, for once, looking at Louie as she said this as it had been her greatest fear at the time of her turning. That when they saw her for what she now was that they would no longer want her either and she couldn't bear the thought of being disowned by more people she loved. "If my own family didn't love me when I became a vampire, then how could I expect you guys too? You never wanted this for me anyway."

"We would have understood Helen. We wouldn't have outcast you like your parents did." Louie replied, gone was the expression of disgust and had been replaced by one of pain, but she wasn't sure if the pain was for her or himself. "Yes we didn't want you to become what we are, but if it was against your will..."

"Wait! How did you know becoming a vampire was against my will?" She heard herself demand, knowing she hadn't told them that part yet. She looked at their faces for a clue but they simply shrugged in response. And it wasn't until she looked at her progeny's guilty face did she understand. "Gabriel! You told them?"

"Only what I knew, and trust me that wasn't a lot." Gabriel stated stubbornly, a rare occurrence as he was too respectful to counter with a remark most times. "I just told them that you have been turned against your will, that's all I could really say since you never told me the truth behind that."

"What is the truth about that anyway?" Godric wanted to know, his calm face turning dark at the mention she had been taken advantage of the way she had that night, meaning even now he still cared enough to get upset that she had been hurt. "You told us why you stayed away, but you haven't talked about the night you turned."

"I don't like to think about it too much. It just makes me hate myself even more then I already do." She retorted, getting to her feet and turning her back on the group as she stared out into the blackness of the woods. "You see, my maker wanted my blood, he wanted me to let him feed on me willingly, but I refused of course and that angered him. He was insulted by my refusal and sought to take revenge on me. If he couldn't have what he wanted, then I couldn't either."

"So he drained you and turned you." Godric finished the process for her as they all knew what it entailed and his voice soothed her when the memories of that night flashed before her eyes. "And he obviously released you..."

"No he didn't, I killed him." Helen found herself interrupting, her confession causing gasps from behind her as she knew it would. It wasn't often when you heard of a progeny turning on their maker nor was it ever heard of that the progeny came out on top, but in her case she had. And it wouldn't be the first time. She turned back around, finding the others also on their feet as she continued in explanation. "I know how shocking that must be to hear, but he was cruel and he took my life from me. I was vengeful and full of hate and anger for what his actions had caused me to lose. And I took my sadness over losing my family out on him and I hunted him down and was able to kill him."

"How did you manage that?" Gabriel wanted to know, looking the most taken aback at this and she knew he would be. The two of them had such a good relationship and he probably couldn't imagine any progeny killing their maker. He looked just a little too surprised at how much he didn't know about her. "I mean, makers are always stronger."

"That's where I had the advantage. He had only been turned a short time before I was and he hadn't yet curbed his thirst for blood so when he smelled me that night, his instinct took over his common sense. He didn't remember that I was a faerie after he turned me, or that I had retained my abilities. That mistake proved to be his undoing when I was able to get the upper hand and stab a branch through his chest. And I was free of him forever and I never regretted it."

"I can't believe you killed your own maker." Godric shook his head, almost out of pride and admiration. "I'm almost jealous. I wish I had done the same thing but someone beat me and Louie to it. Louie was the one hunting our maker down the the nights I was suppose to be looking out for you. But he never found him."

"Well you're not going to like what I have to say next. Because my maker, and Mark weren't the only vampires I have killed in my lifetime. I killed 3 in total." Helen pointed out slowly, feeling her stone body tighten up as the memory of what she had done came flooding back to her. She didn't know how it was going to be received but since she was on a honest streak tonight, she knew she had to forge ahead and confess everything. She kept her eyes on Godric and Louie when she let it slip out. "I also killed your maker."

"You what?" Louie's jaw fell open and there was no wall to what he was feeling, it was clearly displayed on his face. "That was you?"

"Don't ask me how I managed to do it, it was mostly luck on my part." She answered, turning her gaze to Godric as she knew this was going to affect him the most, given the torture his maker had put him through. "But I remember what you had told me he had done to you when you were still human, and I carried that with me into my immortal life. And I was still feeling vengeful about being turned against my will and somehow I was able to track him down and stake him. Because I knew it would have been too hard for you to face him again, so I did it for you."

No one said anything after that for the longest time after that last confession and as much as it took out of Helen for having to tell it all, she knew it was harder for the three of them to listen to it. At least she had a thousand years to get use to what she had done and become. But them? They were already set in their ways and were just hearing it for the first time, so of course it would be some time before it all set in and got through to them. She just hoped that it was enough to at least make them want to all hold on to each other.

"You said you hated yourself...and what you had become." Godric spoke up after a while, gaining her eyes on him as he was the one who sounded like he was leaning towards letting her in at some point down the road. "If you hated being a vampire that much, then why didn't you meet the true death and pass on like your family claimed you had? Why go on existing?"

"Because as much as I hated and still hate what I am, I didn't want to die that much more." Helen replied, feeling the blood tears return to her eyes and she had to turn away again. "And I suppose in some odd way, I was praying that somehow things would work themselves out with us."

"So where do you guys go from here?" Gabriel wanted to know, looking like he wanted to step over to her side but she shook her head at him and he held back. "How do you put all this pain and anguish behind you?"

"We take it day by day and see where we end up naturally." Louie was the one to surprise her the most with this sentence and she turned her blood rimmed eyes to where he stood across the clearing from her, looking like he was fighting himself over something. "We don't push it, we don't force it. If it happens, it happens."

"I know I messed up and I can never truly be forgiven but I don't want to lose any of you." Helen confessed, knowing how pathetic she sounded at that moment but she could care less. It wasn't about sounding strong or right. It was about being honest, that was what was going to help undo what she did. "I already lost my family when my father disowned me. And after a few hundred years, they are dead and I have no one left from that time besides you two. Please don't say I've lost more."

Louie surprised her when he flashed forward in the second she stopped speaking. But it was what he did after that, that really took her by surprise. She didn't know what drove him to reach out and touch her but that was exactly what he did. His fingers brushed against her face for the first time in over a thousand years and she felt the same sensation go through her vampire body as it would have had she still been mortal. If there was any doubt that she still knew what love was now, that doubt went away the second he touched her.

"You messed up. You lied, betrayed, hurt and turned me against my brother and best friend. You don't deserve my forgiveness or a second chance." He told her honestly, staring deep in to her eyes so she could see just how serious he was. It was in that instant that she was certain she would never get him back even if she wanted to. Her faults were staring at her right in the face and she couldn't hide from the hope that was dwindling before her. "You say you don't want to lose us, but I'm not ready to love you again, not after what you have done. But I also can't deny that I do still feel the same for you as I did a thousand years ago..."

"Really?" Helen wasn't expecting that and it took a lot to surprise her and hearing that Louie still cared definitely did it. She dared to place her hand over his and was delighted when he didn't pull away. "So what now?"

"Now..." Louie frowned, looking away to Godric who he had his own issues with and seemed to speak right to him. "Now we all begin healing."

* * *

><p><em><span>20 minutes later<span>_

"And you're sure you are ok? He didn't try anything after I left?" Molly asked frantically into the phone later that night to Allison as she walked around her apartment putting things in order after laying Susan down in her bed, the child fast asleep. After she had left the door open a crack, she had jumped for her cell phone to call her other daughter, just wanting to make sure the girl was alright after Godric had shown up unexpectedly. Despite the fact that he had gone to war for Allison, Molly didn't completely trust him after what he did and she wanted to hear for herself that he hadn't attacked her for a second time. "You can tell me you know..."

"I'm fine, I promise you." Allison interrupted with a slight laugh that hinted at how silly she thought this question was and that in turn made Molly relax a great deal. "Godric just came to talk and then he left. And now I'm just waiting for Eric to get home."

"Well make sure he behaves himself as well." Molly chimed in, a frown decorating her face as her thoughts turned to Godric's progeny who was now her daughter's fiancee. It was strange to think that her first born child was going to be getting married when Molly had never been close to that. But she supposed Allison was just one of those lucky people who found their soul mate early in life And while she didn't particularly like that her daughter was going to marry a vampire, at least she could see that Eric would do anything and go to any lengths to keep her alive and safe. And that was all any mother could ask for. "I'm happy for you two, it seems like the natural course your relationship was suppose to take."

"I think you're right. It was the right time for us to take this step and I don't regret waiting the extra time it took to get to this point." Allison said, reminding both herself and Molly about the disastrous first proposal that she had spoken about before the first battle. "Although I'm sure Eric still wished I hadn't turned him down the first time. He took it kind of hard."

_Knock...knock...knock_

"Yea well, that's a man for you. They take things personally even when it makes sense not to do something." Molly replied into the phone as she got up from the couch and went to answer the door, wondering who the hell would be showing up at this hour. She kept the phone to her ear, not wanting to hang up if it turned out to be no one as she reached for the doorknob. However when she opened the door and her eyes landed on the foreign but slightly familiar vampire standing in the hallway in front of her, she felt a weight settle in the pit of her stomach. "Allie, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."

Molly didn't even wait for a response and simply ended the call before slipping the phone in her back pocket and raised her eyes back up to the vampire's face. His sudden appearance had taken her by surprise as it had been almost a year since she had last seen him and she wasn't expecting his arrival at all. It had come clear out of the blue but deep down she should have been thinking about this all along since revealing herself to be Allison's mother and with everything that had happened since then, she should have realized it would only be a matter of time before he showed up for answers. And as he stood there waiting for an invitation to come in, it hit her that this was exactly why he was here. He wanted answers to something that only she could give him.

"Please, come in." She reluctantly said, stepping aside and waving him in even though she hated it as she did it. She didn't want vampires in her home with her little daughter sleeping only a few rooms away, but they couldn't exactly discuss their business out in the hallway. And he had never shown any violence towards her before, so as uneasy as she felt about it, she still did since she knew he wouldn't hurt her and risk not getting the answer he wanted. Once he stepped over the threshold, she quickly shut the door and motioned to the living room. "Do you want to sit down?"

"I think I will." He replied, nodding to her as he ran a single hand through his longish sandy blonde hair and his eyes looked at her intently before he dropped down on one end of the couch and sat back with his arms crossed. She sat on the other end cautiously as he watched her with guarded eyes. "It's been a while since we last spoke."

"I know, I hadn't had anything to report for months." Molly nodded shortly, her hands in her lap as her eyes never left his face. He looked so young, so handsome. If no one looked closely, they would assume he was a normal young man in his early 20's. But in actuality he was a 978 year old vampire, a vampire she had almost wished she had not agreed to help. "I believe the last time we spoke was when you pushed me towards the Dallas coven after we made the deal."

"Yes, the deal that has been on my mind for the past year. The one we were both suppose to benefit from..." He retorted almost blankly, his face showing he was thinking about that night almost 12 months ago when he had come to her after finding out who the witches were going to target. "So far I haven't gotten anything in return. And I helped you find out where those witches were because of who they were trying to get at. You do remember the conditions of our deal right?"

"Yes. You would reveal who they were targeting if I helped you get what you wanted in tracking someone down. I remember perfectly." Molly almost groaned in remembrance of the pack she had made with this vampire. A pack that had seemed to be the solution back then but could cause trouble now.

She had been desperate back then, knowing that the baby she had given up for adoption almost 24 years earlier was going to be targeted by witches and she didn't know which ones. And the only one who seemed to know was this vampire and who knew what his motives were behind finding out this information since he had no apparent connection to Allison. But yet she had agreed to working with him once he revealed that he knew Allison was her daughter and was going to have the enemy on her back. Some how, he had known that Allison had a connection o Godric and that at some point down the road it would lead to her knowing Louie and that in turn would hopefully draw out the vampire he had been searching for. Helen.

She didn't know who Helen was at the time, but if she was going to appear at some point then she would gladly give up her location if she was ever seen. So once Molly had agreed to doing this for him, he had given her a head's up about the witch's plans in return for her letting him know if Helen ever showed up. They had exchanged numbers but Molly had never had a reason to use it to speak to him. She was so focused on saving her daughter and then resurrecting her that she almost had forgotten about this deal she made. And not even when Helen had saved Allison from Mark did Molly think to call him. So much had happened that she had let it slip her mind and it was only now that it all came rushing back to her and she felt a wave of guilt hit her.

"I should have told you this days ago but there was a sudden problem with the rest of the coven that needed to be taken care of. And it complicated things and took away all my focus. And I should have called you before, but I simply forgot." Molly explained, staring down at her hands, hating that she was allowing this vampire to make her feel guilty for not following through the minute she had seen Helen for the first time. But a deal was a deal. He helped her and now she had to help him. No matter what he would do with the information. She looked up at his young and forever immortal face and sighed, knowing that what she was about to say could potentially ruin things. "But the war's over now and I can tell you that Helen has come out of the shadows. I saw her for myself and from what I gathered, she is staying somewhere in Shreveport. She should be easy enough to find."

"Excellent." The vampire said, smiling cryptically as he got up slowly to leave and straightened out his clothes before turning to look at her. "Thank you for this information. Our pack has been fulfilled and our paths will now split away."

"What exactly are you going to do now?" Molly asked, jumping up from the couch nervously as he edged away for the door. She had never found out what he was planning to do when she did her part of this deal. And now she could have possibly given him something to use to potentially do something horrible. What was wrong with her? "You never did tell me why you went into this deal with me."

"You had your reasons and I have mine." He answered simply, his voice calm and level but she could see something brewing behind his eyes and for once she wished she had her daughter's ability to read vampire minds. He didn't look evil but then again he was a vampire and a very old one at that. He was probably just very good at perfecting his poker face. He shook his head at her. "I have been searching for her for a very long time. That's all you need to know."

"Why are you trying to find Helen?" Molly asked, unwilling to let this go as her stubborn personality was hungry for an answer. Perhaps she should have questioned this when she was first making the deal but when it came to her daughter's life remaining in tact, she acted first and asked questions later. But now he was leaving and she had to know whether she had made a mistake in telling him what she knew. "Who is she to you?"

The vampire had already opened the door and was preparing to step out into the hallway when her comment made him pause and turn back to her. His brown eyes searched her face as if he were trying to decide something and she wondered what it was that she had said that made him stop himself from leaving. Finally his eyes went back to hers and she watched him shrug his shoulders before he said one last thing before he disappeared.

"My name is Alec...and Helen is my older sister."

* * *

><p><em><span>Later that night<span>_

"Um Eric...What are you doing?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I walked into the kitchen after taking a shower and not only did I find him back in the house for the first time that night, but of all things he was standing by the island counter furiously chopping something that I couldn't quite see. I ran my hands through my damp hair and walked towards the counter, trying to fight back a laugh at this odd and very domestic looking sight. "Are...are you cooking?"

"If you have to ask then I seriously misinterpreted your intelligence." He replied, looking up with a smirk and set down the knife he was holding and leveled me with a stare. "Why are you giving me that look? Is it that unbelievable that I would do something like this?"

"Frankly yes it is. It's very rare that you do nice things and you already proposed. I figured that was the end of your niceness streak." I teased, leaning on the edge of the counter and looking around in amazement of seeing Eric doing something I never thought he would do. I didn't know what he was making, but there was food everywhere. Vegetables and meats, broth and spices, pasta and starches. The entire counter was covered by something or another as as he moved his hands all over the place, it slowly started to empty. I looked up at him and cocked my head to the side. "Ok, I have to ask why you are cooking. I thought human food disgusted vampires?"

"Oh it does and I had never had any desire to handle this shit before." He retorted with a sickening look as he paused in his movements and met my eyes and for some reason, he smirked triumphantly like he knew something I should have known. "You really don't know why I'm cooking for you? You don't what tonight is?"

"The night after our engagement..." I shrugged searching my mind for something other then that, that would have lead Eric to doing something so sweet. But nothing came to me. My head had been so full of fear and anger and complete happiness that the war was over and we could move on with out lives, that I wasn't thinking the most logically. "Ok fine. You tell me why this night is so special."

"Think about it. It's almost fall..." Eric hinted, trying to get me to that conclusion on my own but I just stared at him until he rolled his eyes. "It's your 24th birthday."

"Oh shit. I completely forgot!" I exclaimed, immediately slapping myself in the forehead for letting such an important day slip my mind. I felt like an idiot. I couldn't believe I didn't remember my birthday had been coming up and if it hadn't been for Eric mentioning it, then I would never have thought about it. But I guess with everything that has been going on it with the witches and the war, that it was only natural to forget I was turning another year older. "And you totally remembered. Hence the home cooked meal."

"See? Aren't you glad you agreed to marry me?" He asked, sticking his tongue out before coming around the counter over to me with that damn smirk. "I will now pick up your slack for the rest of our lives."

"I think its the other way around, you're the one that always need me to clean up after you." I said pointedly, not able to stop the laugh that escaped from my lips. It was weird to feel this carefree and lighthearted with Eric when we usually had some kind of enemy at our back. But for once in our relationship, there was nothing haunting hanging over us and we had the chance to be truly happy and enjoy our time together. I was filled up with such a swell of love for him right now and I wanted nothing more then to just be with him. I looked over the counter, my eyes landed on the meal in progress before I said. "Forget the food."

"And why is that?" He pretended to question, trying and failing to look innocent as I grabbed on to his shirt and he jumped in mock fear. "Oh my God, are you insinuating that we do something bad?"

"Like you're not already thinking about it." I giggled, forcing up the hem of his black shirt so my fingers skimmed his toned stomach muscles and sent a blush spreading across my cheeks. I couldn't pull off his shirt because he was way too tall, so I stood there stubbornly with my hands on my hips. "You want to help me out here?"

"You're trying to take advantage of me sexually aren't you?" He was playing a game, I saw it in his eyes and I knew him all too well to know how his mind operated. He was feeling playful tonight. "Help! My fiancee is trying to rape me."

"Oh don't pretend like you won't enjoy it.." I smirked before wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling his lips down to meet mine...

_2 hours later _

" Are you ok?" Eric looked at me as he said this later that night as we sat out on the front porch of our house with me on his lap and our naked bodies dressed in nothing but sheets. We had spent the better part of the last few hours making love and it was quite possibly the sweetest and most satisfying experience so far. I leaned back against his cold hard chest, enjoying the chill I got from our skin contact and it had a calming effect on me as I leaned my head against his. It almost made me forget the anxiety that had creeped up on me and was now refusing to leave.

"I'm just...thinking." I said slowly, watching the dark night warily but there was nothing amiss in the air, no enemy coming to destroy us, nothing was out of place. Eric and I were alive and engaged. We were finally getting a chance to relax and be happy. Everything was perfect. Or was it? I should have been nothing but at peace right now but I couldn't manage it. "I can't help but think about everything that has happened over the past couple of months. My resurrection, my new ability, the whole fiasco with Helen and Godric, the attack, Mark, the 2nd battle with the witches. There has been so much pain and destruction, and death. It makes me feel suffocated to remember it all. "

"That will pass." Eric nodded against me, his chin rubbing on my bare shoulder. "In time, all the pain will become nothing more then a memory. It won't feel so fresh."

"But it is fresh and there are times I can't bare it." I muttered, my eyes trailed down at where Eric's arms were locked around my midsection and I sighed. "There are times when I wish we could all go back, back before all this started. Or at least have a new beginning. I hate that we have had so much happen to us in such a small amount of time. It's too much. And I just want to start over."

" So let's do it...let's start over." Eric lifted his head off my shoulder and turned my face around so our eyes met. "You want a new beginning? Then that's what we'll do. "

"And how are we suppose to do that here? Where everywhere we turn there are memories of everything and anything that has ever happened?" I pressed my lips together in a tight line, knowing that it wasn't going to be as easy as Eric thought. Sure we may say we want a fresh start and leave everything behind, but no matter how badly we wanted that to happen, it just wasn't possible. Whether we were here at our house, or at the sight where my old house use to stand, or Fangtasia or anywhere in these surrounding areas, there was always going to be some remaining memory of the battles that were fought and the lives lost. And that was going to make life hard to get through. It's not that I wanted to leave my old life, I just wanted a break from it. I looked at Eric and touched his face with my fingers. " I wish it were that easy, but it's not. Not while every place around here reminds us of..."

" So let's leave." Eric interrupted with the most ridiculous statement in the world that had me frowning at him as if he just suggested that I ram a stake through his chest. But he looked completely serious. And judging by his next statement, he was crazy too. "I'm not kidding. Let's just go get dressed and get the hell out of here. We can leave the country for a while and travel together. It will be good for us."

"You're serious?" I looked at him for a long while, waiting for the moment when he would break into a smile and start laughing, but that never happened. He just stared back at me, patiently waiting for my answer. And that's how I knew he was being beyond serious. I sat back with my eyes wide. "Holy shit, you are. "

"We need some time just for the two of us after...well, you know. " Eric's face clouded over briefly with a look of pain and I knew right away what he was thinking about. Only one event could make him look that sad and upset and I knew he was thinking about the block of time before my resurrection that he had spent thinking I was dead and he would never have me again. But then he brushed it away and set his eyes on my face with a much more happier expression. "We can go to Europe or anywhere you want for a few weeks and just enjoy being together again without any threats hanging over us."

"That's sounding very good right about now. " I said, warming up to the idea. I knew I probably shouldn't be running off with Eric to some other country, because God only knows what he and I would do if we were left with each other. And I know Sookie would be worried without me being close by for an indefinite amount of time. And I should stick around and attempt to work things out with Godric. And Louie would probably need me now that Helen was in the picture. So many people needed me and I wanted to be there for them. But Eric was right, we needed this time together to just be with each other. We didn't have that the last time and now that there was no threat going on, there couldn't have been a more perfect time to go through with it. I looked at Eric and felt a smile unfolding across my lips. "Ok, let's do it. Let's leave."

**The End...for now !**

**A/N: Yes this is the end of fic numero cuatro. And boy has it been an exciting ride. I'm so sad it ended because this was my favorite so far to write. And I'm glad so many people loved it. I hope you will continnue to stick with this series because if you thought the drama was over, then you thought wrong!**


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